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Indiana University 
English papers were complaining in 1785 that the Dutch were 
driving the English out of the American market by under- 
selling them in every article.^® James McHenry, an Amer- 
ican, also stated that the Dutch and German mercantile houses 
in America were underselling British agents.®® The restrictive 
legislation, together with public opinion in places, the changed 
tastes as well as opportunities for buying non-British goods, 
and the bad financial condition of the British merchants inter- 
fered considerably with their trade. The committee of the 
Privy Council was unanimous in declaring that the American j 
laws had injured their trade.®^ But no doubt it was only one 
of a number of causes of this falling off. The British exports 
to this country fell off by one-half during 1786-1788, over 
1784-1785.®“ Many ships returned to London from America 
without even breaking packages.®® Other cargoes of British 
goods sold in the United States at half their value in Lon- 
don while others had to be transshipped to the British West 
Indies.®^ Dutch and American carriers practically alone 
gained by this discrimination against the British. 
Finally, if the hostile feelings of the people toward the Brit- 
ish rather than the hostile laws checked British trade, the 
reverse was true of the Dutch trade. The Dutch had the good- 
will of the American people to a greater degree than did any 
other people except perhaps the French. If the Americans did 
not frequently help the Dutch traders to evade what little re- 
strictions the Americans had put upon Dutch trade by their 
legislation, they showed no great energy in enforcing the re- 
strictive laws. For revenue purposes most of the states had 
placed tonnage duties on foreign ships entering their ports. 
This was usually lower for Dutch ships than that paid by 
British vessels but higher than that paid by American-owned 
ships. But the Dutch were permitted to find a way of enter- 
ing as American owned-ships. American laws down to 1788 
Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, February 5, 1785 ; August 2, 1786, 
quoting’ London dispatches. 
Carey, American Museum or Repository, V, 467. 
Atcheson (ed.). Collection of Reports and Papers on the Navigation and Trade, 
Appendix A, ii, v. 
Pitkin, A Statistical Vietv of the Commerce of the United States, 30. 
S3 London Chronicle, November 1, 1783 ; January 22, 1785 ; March 28 and April 12, 
1786. 
Ibid., July 10, 1784 ; September 30, 1784 ; May 17, 1785 ; Coxe, A View of the 
United States of America, 34. 
