The Rise of Manufactures. 133 



agement was hampered by the effort to maintain the Crown's 

 claim to the woods. ^ 



In the northern colonies, English clothing was fast becom- 

 ing a luxur}' for the well-to-do of the towns. Governor Hunter 

 wrote from New York, in 171 5, in answer to inquiries about 

 the extent of the use of homespun, that the people of New York 

 and Albany wore no clothing of their own manufacture, but if 

 their Lordships referred to the planters and poorer sort of coun- 

 try people, the computation had been underrated rather than 

 exaggerated ; although he thought that no homespun was sold 

 in shops. He could offer no remedy other than encouraging in- 

 dustries that would be useful to England ; but, he observed, 

 " a law to oblige those who are not able, to wear English man- 

 ufactures, would be a law to go naked."- In 1719, Mr. Bridger 

 reported so great an increase of the woolen manufacture, that 

 scarcely a countryman came to Boston but clad in his own spin- 

 ning. Everybody encouraged this and discouraged trade from 

 England, saying that it was a pity any goods were brought over. 

 The importation of cotton wool from the West Indies contrib- 

 uted greatly to home manufacture and ought to be prohibited.^ 

 There were said to be more than 20.000 sheep on Nantucket, 

 and very many in Rhode Island and Block Island. 



A New Englander's point of view appears in a " Discourse 

 on the Trade of New England," written by Mr. Banister, in 

 1715, in answer to some queries put to him by the Board of 

 Trade.*. " The difficulties under which trade labors are," he 

 says, " first, the heavy duties on the products which New Eng- 

 land could best supply to Great Britain, namely, masts, planks, 

 boards, etc. ; secondly, the importation of New England exceeds 

 the exportation, which, if not balanced, will bring this double 



iCf. Part III, Ch. I. 



^Docts. relating to the History of New York. Vol. V, p. 457- 



3Mr. Bridger to Mr. Popple, B. T. New Eng., W: 65. 



^B. T. New Eng., B: 91. Mr. Banister was a New England mer- 

 chant in London, who on July 6, 1715, was called before the Board 

 of Trade and questioned regarding the land bank scheme, naval 

 stores and the preservation of woods and fisheries. He promised to 

 hand in a report in writing, which he did July 15th. This is the dis- 

 course referred to in the text. 



