71 



SECT. HI. 



Hoiv far the present Distresses of the Colonial Pro- 

 prietors alone, afford a just Ground for the pro- 

 posed Suspension of the Distillery. 



THIS inquiry naturally divides itself into two 

 branches : First, Whether the colonists should 

 receive any relief? and, secondly, Whether the 

 relief proposed by the suspension of the distil- 

 lery of corn be a proper one ? 



I. In the outset of these remarks, I intimat- 

 ed my opinion that the present distresses of 

 our colonists had arisen from an over exten- 

 sion of the cultivation of sugar, during the tem- 

 porary unproductiveness of other islands; that 

 now, on the revival of more fertile soils, there 

 is a quantity produced beyond the present de- 

 mand of the world, and that our colonists ne- 

 ver can be effectually relieved, till they reduce 

 their cultivation *. The first question, then, 



* Notwithstanding the respectable authority of the Report 

 of the Committee of the House of Commons, 24th July 1807, to 

 the contrary, I cannot help adhering to this opinion. The chief 

 cause of the colonial distresses assigned there, is the import to 

 the continent from the hostile islands, by neutral vessels. But 

 this would never account for the difficulty, unless there were an 

 over produce ; for, during former years of peace, when the in. 



