The Lumber Trade in J^etv England. 123 



able to say; nor is it possible to determine to what extent the 

 irritation of the New England woodsmen may have laid the 

 foundation for the resentment which culminated in 1776. At 

 all events, the facts presented in this chapter furnished clear 

 evidence that, so far as one branch of industry is concerned, 

 the ecomomic independence of New England was declared and 

 maintained many years before the final rupture with Great 

 Britain. 



