1804.) On the Manufaéiure and Quality of Chefire Salt, 
the United States, in, twelve months, has 
been at leaft equal to, what is, flated by 
the author of this paper, there can be 
little doubt, Brom an account which, was 
ordered to be laid on the table of the 
Houle of Commons, of the. rock and 
white-falt exported, from Great, Britain. to 
different countries, for feveral years, it 
appears, that, from January.5, 1807, to 
January, 5, 1802; 1,946,321. buthels, of 
white-falt were exported to the States of 
America. . Large as this quantity feems, 
it conititated a very fimall proportion of 
the total export of falt from Gieat, Bri- 
tain, which amounted in that year to 
6,532,329. bubhels.. The mere duty on 
the falt cenfumed at home, which is ufed 
in curing, of fifth. and provifiens, in 
preferving .butier, i», the making of 
cheele, and forall domeftic. purpofes,* 
amounted to little lefs than a milliun fter- 
ding. » Xs it not fingular, that, from 
the United States alone, we fhouid 
have heard of the dreadful effeéts which 
the importation of this ‘* pernicious ar- 
ticle has occafioned ?”’ thoygh it has been 
fent in fuch large quantities to different 
European States, to Africa, to our own 
American colonjes:, though it has bgen 
ufed in our own fifheries, and in curing 
the provifions for our mavy: yet no yel- 
low fever, no peftilential difeafe, has 
been here produced by. it :--pretty ftrong 
proofs that this falt is mot ** difqualified 
for preferving animal-flefh” every where. 
Why in America alone its bauetul effects 
fhould thew themlelves, it is not eafy to 
conceive } 
From the account which the author 
next gives ef the dilcgvery of rock-faltin 
Chefhire, he {cems to imagine, either that 
the {alt is {ent to America in the ftate in 
which it is procured from the mines— 
-§the Britifh falt importeé into America 
comes chiefly from Chefhire, from the 
mines which contain it,’’ or that it is ma- 
nufagtured principally from the ‘* rock- 
Malt afed in ftrengtheaing brine-fprings or 
fea-water, preparatory to boiling down.”’ , 
He appears to fuppofe that no white-falt 
was manufactured in Chefhire previous to 
the accidental difcovery of rock-falt.—- 
Whether thele are his idees, er whether 
they are faéts, may not be of importance 
in difcuffing the queliion of the compara- 
tive “purity of Liverpool falt; but the 
truth is, that no rock-falt, or falt in the 
itate in which it is gotten from the mines, 
* No mention is here made of the falt 
ufed in manufaGures, as this is unconneéted 
with the fubje& of the prefent inquiry. 
44s 
is ever exported to the United States, 
though very large quantities of it are annu- 
ally exported to other countries ; and tnat 
by far the greateft proportion of she whiie- 
falt exported from England, or ufed at 
home, is manufactured from the naturah 
brine-{prings, without any artificial ad- 
dition of reck-falt, and has been procured 
from thefe fources as long as we lave any 
records of the hiltory of the couniry.—— 
After having, however, enceavoured to 
give the idea, that it is only the «fait 
from the mines,” or falt prepared from 
this, which is exported from England in- 
to America, he feems, in introducing the 
account of the penalty attached to tne ule 
of crude rock-falt in England, to with to 
lead his readers to believe, that, though 
the Englifh are very ready to fupply the 
Americans with fhis, they take care not 
to ule it themfelves. ‘That he withes to 
imoerefs upon them this idea, we are juf- 
tifie? in fuppofing from what he atter- 
wards lays, ** but that Britihh falt, which 
they make to fell abroad, and not to con- 
{ume at home, ought to be fhunned asa 
moft pernicious article in trade,” &c. 
What is the difference alluded to, it'is 
for the author to explain. In England it 
it is perfectly well known that no dittine- 
tion is made, no difference known, betwixt 
the falt exported and that confumed at 
home ; while England efcapes all the 
terrible evils afcribed to this manufacture. 
It is hardly neceflary to ftate, that the 
penalty on the ule of rock-falt is intended 
merely to prevent frauds on the revenue. 
The next part ot the paper feems to 
contain the ground-work of the author’s 
charge apainft jalt of Britith manufic. 
ture ; and the inference which he prcduces 
from the premifes he gives us, is furely 
not @ litle fingular and extraordinary !—- 
© Sea-falt, brine-{prings, and rock-falt, 
generally abound with various other 
earthy and faline ingredients, fuch as 
lime, magnefia, Epfom falt, gypfum, 
Giauber's falis, &t. all of whch injure 
the quality of the falt, and ditqualify it 
for preferving animal-fiefh every where, 
but efpecially in hot countries and feafons. 
Therefore this Britifh falt, which comes 
to us chicfly from Liverpool and the Mer- 
fey, is a moft pernicious article of im- 
port: Itis both weak and impure,” &c. 
That fea-water, bvine-fprings, and 
rock-fait, each contain, befides muriate of 
foda, various earthy and faline ingredi- 
ents, oficn thofe which the author of this 
paper enumerates, is perfeétly well 
known. But before he had prefented us 
with the conclufion he draws, we might 
have 
a on 
Fen othe sey dae cane ate 
a re 
