52 



ing the pea Bruchus in a parcel of pease brought from 

 this country, fearing, and very justly too, that he might 

 be the instrument of introducing so noxious an insect 

 into his beloved Sweden. Greater was the panic and 

 more serious were the consequences to the British 

 nation, arising from ignorance and error respecting the 

 Hessian-fly. In 1 788 the ravages of this insect had 

 become so great in New York, New Jersey, and 

 Pennsylvania, that an alarm was excited in England 

 by an unfounded fear of importing it in cargoes of 

 wheat from this country. After the subject had occu- 

 pied the Privy Council and the Royal Society a long 

 time, during which despatches were forwarded to his 

 majesty's ministers in France, Austria, Prussia, and 

 America, and expresses were sent to all the custom- 

 houses to search the cargoes, — a mass of documents, 

 amounting to above two hundred octavo pages, was 

 collected, which, so far from affording any correct 

 information on the subject, led only to the obnoxious 

 and mistaken pohcy of prohibiting the importation of 

 American grain, and ordering that which had arrived 

 to be seized and stored. In the mean time the cele- 

 brated Dr. Currie, of Liverpool, who had resided in 

 this country, and knew something of the history of our 

 miscalled Hessian-fly, pointed out to the committee of 

 investigation the errors they had fallen into ; but, in 

 consequence of political prejudice, it was not till many 

 months afterwards, upon a confirmation of his state- 

 ment being received from America, that the British 

 government saw fit to reverse its orders, and take 

 upon itself the expense to which it had put the parties 

 by its ignorance. If, as soon as the ravages of this 



