24 Industrial Experiments in Colonial America. 



tage to sell cheaper than cost for two or three years, and so beat out 

 every individual trader in New England. 



4. "When they have engrossed the trade, they may set what price 

 they please on English manufactures in New England, forcing the in- 

 habitants to manufacture their own linen and wool to the great dam- 

 age of England. 



5. ''In times of peace, the commissioners of the navy contract for 

 not above two ship loads of masts in a year, which is of no great value. 



6. "The people of New England are daily supplied by private hands 

 with more commodities than the country can vend. 



7. "None of these naval stores can be bought by a company so cheap 

 as by private hands, on account of the great expense of such corpora- 

 tions. 



8. "As to their promise to forfeit the charter in case of abuse of priv- 

 ileges, we have seen plenty of corporations misuse powers and survive 

 twelve years of complaints to the King, Council and Parliament. 



9. "The people of Massachusetts have already petitioned the king 

 not to grant the charter, and even if these reasons have no weight, it 

 seems unseasonable for the king to grant such a patent when he has 

 just appointed a commission to go over and inspect the country." 



As nothing more about the charter appears in the documents 

 of the Board of Trade until August 6, 1702, it may be inferred 

 that their Lordships acted upon the advice to shelve the ques- 

 tion until the commissioners should have finished their work. 

 In the summer of 1702, Dudley, encouraged by the fresh evi- 

 dences of the possibilities of the country received from the com- 

 missioners, renewed his petition, reviewing the previous at- 

 tempts "which, though approved in general, met with opposi- 

 tion from certain persons for private interests."^ One cannot 

 but wonder at the persistency of these gentlemen, in the face of 

 such determined opposition. Eight of the original subscribers 

 whose names appear in the petition of 1688 clung to the project; 

 and the fact that these claimed to represent several hundred 

 other merchants and gentlemen, on both sides of the water, is 

 significant. There must have been a strong business faith that 

 the scheme was workable and that, when effected, it would be 

 profitable. Fifteen years of waiting had not quenched their 

 zeal. 



iQrder in Council on Sir M. Dudley's petition, B.T. New Eng., L: 15. 



