294 
French Hands, lefs dangerous to the Peace of Europe than 
in ours ? Would they more affeft the Balance of Power, 
would they create greater Caufe for the States of Europe 
to be uneafy ? Surely not. It is plain, that France does not 
feek Wealth with a View to make her People rich and 
happy, but from quite a different Motive, to extend the 
Power of her King, to increafe the Number of his Sub- 
jects, and to gain an Influence deftrucftive to the Freedom 
of other Nations. If the Wealth of the Indies muff, by 
the Violence of War, or any other Accident whatever, be 
diverted from falling into the Spanijh Coffers, why thou Id 
it not come immediately into the Hands of the EngUJh and 
Butch ? 
Amongfl them it would not be expended to the Detri- 
ment of others, but for the general Good of their Sub- 
jects : It would be fpent in improving their native Coun- 
tries, in converting every Wafte, every Common, into a 
.rich and plentiful Field of Plufbandry or iome fort or other, 
and in making the Owners of Land at Home, the better 
for what was acquired at their Expence Abroad. The Ma- 
ritime Powers have often fupported, but never attempted 
to fu Eject, their Neighbours •, it is not agreeable to the Ma- 
xims of their Government ; nay more, it is abfolutely re- 
pugnant to thofe of their Intereft. Such States as depend 
upon Commerce, mult always defire to fee other Nations 
as free as themfelves ; becaufe there can be no Safety nor 
Profit in dealing with Slaves. Such as fend their Goods into 
Countries under arbitrary Government, run a double Ha- 
zard, that of feeling the Weight of fuch a Government, 
and of meeting with no Returns, if they Ihould efcape the 
firft Danger. It is impoffible, that Slaves fhould be rich *, 
Captain BeiagF s Remarks are a Proof of it : He fhews us, 
that the haplefs Indians of America are miferable in the fineft 
Climate, ftarving in the richeft Soil, and indigent amongft 
Mines of Gold and Silver, where they work, nay, work 
themfelves to Death, for the Benefit of others. He fhews 
you, that this is the Refult of the Tyranny of the Spanijh 
Government ; but I will fhew you more, the Indians in 
America are what Europeans mult be, if the Influence of 
France prevails. 
Of all Nations, therefore, the French have the leaft Ti- 
tle, though hitherto they have had the beft Luck, in be- 
coming Interlopers in the South Seas. My Arguments 
have the fame Weight, whether it be War or Peace. We 
are wanting to ourfelves, if, while we contend with them 
in Europe for our Liberties, we buffer them to draw from 
the Weft Indies the Means of Oppre fling. They have, 
fince the prefent War began, had recourfe to the old 
Method : The St. Malomen are again abroad •, and it is 
the great Scheme of the French Miniftry, to fupply the 
vaft°£xpences of the prefent War, from the fame Source 
which iupplied the laft ; which renders our Attention to 
this Account fo much the more neceffary. But, in a time 
of War, we have it certainly in our Power to deprive 
them of this, as of mod other Refources. We can fend 
our Frigates thither, as well as the Saint Malomen , and 
we might make it worth the while of our Merchants to fend 
Ships laden with proper Goods under their Convoy. This 
would have a double Effedt } it would annoy the Enemy, 
and enrich our own People : It would anfwer the Queftion 
that the Spanijh Trader put to Captain Shelvocke , viz. Whe- 
ther the Britijh Merchants were all afleep, or too rich to 
mind Trade any longer, that they buffered the French Ped- 
lars to run away with the Wealth of Chili and Peru ? It 
was a wife and well-put Queftion •, for when. we are at 
War with Spain , when all the Effects of Treaties are fuf- 
pended on her Side, it is certainly not lawful only, but a 
Piece of Juftice due to ourfelves, to repair that neceffary 
Lofs of Trade, which is the Confequence of a Spanijh 
War, by protedling another fort of Trade, a Trade in the 
South Seas on EngliJIo Bottoms. 
In time of Peace we have a Title, by Treaties, that ne- 
ver can expire, or lofe their Force, to exclude the French 
from all Commerce in the South Seas : I fay, that thefe 
Treaties can never expire, or lofe Efficacy, becaufe, when 
his Catholic Majefty fliall difclaim thofe Treaties, he muft,. 
at the fame time, renounce his Title to the Crown of Spain , 
at leaft with regard to us, and the reft of the contracting 
Powers in the Treaty of Utrecht. It is by the Conceflions 
Book I. 
made in that Treaty, that he is known to, and acknow- 
ledged by, us, and the other contracting Powers, for King 
of Spain and whenever he breaks through thefe Concef- 
fions, or attempts to refcind them, he lofes all Title to his 
Crown under that Treaty, which is the very Title that he 
profeffes to hold by, and without which he would be no 
more than a Viceroy to his Neighbour and Nephew the 
King of France. It is for this Reafon, and becaufe, as pru- 
dent Men, they cannot help forefeeing to how low a State 
there Country muft be reduced, that the Spanijh Grandees 
always infill: upon the fame Point. For tho 5 Spain ihould 
lofe the Money equally both ways j that is to fay, ihould 
have the fame Balance of Trade againft her by the ordi- 
nary Method of fending Goods from Cadiz , and by the 
extraordinary Method of their being carried by the French , 
with the Permiffion, or at leaft by the Connivance, of the 
Spanijh Court •, yet Spain would greatly buffer by fuch a 
Commerce : Becaufe, in the firft Place, tho 5 ihe is not ab- 
fojute Miftrefs of the Money, ihe ftill enjoys the Influence 
that refults from the Diftribution of it, which, to People 
in the Condition the Spayiiards now are, is oi very great 
Confequence •, to fay the Truth, it is of the laft Confe- 
quence ; for Influence is a Species of Power, and almoft 
the only Species of Power the Spaniards can manage with 
Effect ; and there is Reafon therefore to believe, that when- 
ever this Crown is in Earncft inclined to a Peace, ihe will 
not hefitate a Moment at renewing this Exclufion of the 
French , which is as much her Intereft, as it is ours, and a 
Point of fuch Confequence to other European States, that 
it never can be given up, while they are refolved to main- 
tain their Liberty and Independency. 
I know very well, that it may be objected, that the 
French Trade to the South Seas ruined itfelf ; that is to fay, 
the French Interlopers fent fuch vaft Quantities of European 
Goods into the Spanijlo Weft Indies , that at laft they would 
not fell for prime Coft ; and that this induced the French 
Court to comply with repeated Remonftrances from that 
of Spain , and to concur in prohibiting this illicit Trade. 
But this is very fallacious Reafoning ; for, let us conflder 
firft, what it was induced the French to overtrade them- 
felves ; and this, on all Hands, is allowed to be the pro- 
digious Gain of the firft Traders. Thefe then were all 
fafe *, the French , as a Nation, had poffeffed themfelves of 
fo many Millions of Silver, in Return for Goods and Ma- 
nufactures •, that is to fay, they were poffeffed of an im- 
menfe Mafs of folid, intrinfic, and permanent i reafure, 
inftead of the Ribbands, Laces, and other Baubles, they 
had fent abroad. This was their Profit, and we know how 
much they muft be the better for it. Let us next conflder 
their Lofs : They exported a vaft Quantity of the fame 
kind of Goods, and received for them no more than they 
were worth. This might, and pofllbly did, affeCt the 
Merchants ; but the French Nation gained as before, not 
fo much indeed, but ftill it was Gain. The Goods were 
converted into Silver ; and thofe who were employed in 
making up thefe Goods, remained poffeffed of what they 
received for them : Will any Man lay, that this was not 
a mighty Advantage to France ? Did it not make the Peo- 
ple in general richer ? Did it not make Money circulate ? 
Did it not put it in the Power of the French King to raife 
Taxes? And, which is of the greateft Confequence to us, 
and to them, did it not contribute to the Support and Im- 
provement of the French Manufactures, and the finking 
and destroying thofe of this Nation, with which the Spa- 
niards in America would have otherwife been, by the Way 
of Cadiz , fupplied ? This plainly fhews, what a prodigi- 
ous Benefit rebuked to France by this I rade, and how great 
a Lofs we buffered thereby ; for tho 5 it be certainly^ true, 
that the Spaniards in America will always prefer EngUJh 
Goods, when they get them, yet this Preference is out of 
the Cafe, when the Market is only flocked with French. 
Befides, when Things came to that Pafs, which th e French 
complain of, that their Goods produced little or no Profit, 
we buffered much more than they ; for the Spaniaras had 
their Hands full of French Goods, for which they had paid 
at fome Rate or ocher, becaufe brought in French Bottoms 
to their very Door \ while our Goods, by the Why of 
Cadiz , and upon which the Spaniards received Freight, lay 
rotting in our FaCtors Warehoufes, and would fetch no 
. ° o Price 
The VOYAGE S of 
