1810.] 
colonies defray the whole of their civil 
establishments ; and in most, if not all of 
them, a considerable surplus remains in 
the public fund for imperial uses. 
The sole expences, then, which Great 
Britain incurs for her colonies, is con- 
fined to small sa'aries of some of the 
public officers, (who are moreover ainply 
paid by the colonies themselves) and to 
that of their military and naval establish- 
ments, 
Political writers have generally com- 
puted the vaiue of the several parts of 
an empire hy the number of men that 
they furnish, and the support they al- 
ford to the public revenue. To these 
points the examination of the value of 
the West Indies is now reduced. Their 
constitution precludes an increase of the 
white population; it is therefore impos- 
sible to raise troops for general service 
from that class of inhabitants. Several 
black regiments, however, have been 
raised, some at the sole expence of the colo- 
nies in which they were formed. ‘These 
men forma very respectable military force. 
In addition to this, there is no part of 
the empire in which the militia duty falls 
so generally as in the West Indies. 
These local troops are self-supported, 
and perform with fidelity all their duties. 
In most of the colomes, a gratuirous 
allowance is made to the British troops 
that are stationed there; so that the aid, 
in point of men, though not so complete 
as in some places, is tar beyond some 
others. Let us examine the test in its 
other bearings :—the West India colonists 
contribute to the public revenue in an 
infinitely larger proportion than any 
otherclass of Britishsubjects. In 1804-5,* 
the ‘value of the imports from the 
British West Indies was above seventeen 
million of pounds sterling, which yielded 
above five millions of direct public 
revenue, By various indirect means, Mr. 
Lowet computes that an equal sum finds 
its way into the Treasury ; making a total 
of ten millions of pounds of annual re- 
venue to the state in general. 
Besides the enormous revenue drawn 
from the produce of the colonies, 
large sums are paid by those West India 
proprietors resident in Britain, who con- 
tribute in a three-fold form to the state: 
1. By the colonial taxes; 2. By those 
on produce; and, 3. By those on reve- 
nue in Britain. Mr. Brougham, in his 
* Young's West Ind.Com. Place Bocky p.86, 
Jt Lowe’s Inquiry inte State, a&c. p. is. 
On the present State of the Cotton Colonies. 3 
valuable work on Colonial Policy,* esti- 
mates the revenue of West India pro- 
prietors subject to taxation in this country 
at several millions. It may be difficult 
to ascertain the precise amount, but it 
may be fairly estimated from the net 
average of four years, at about two 
millions, which contributes in the same 
way as any other revenue in this country. 
If this be the case, under the present 
grevious system, how much greater would 
it be in more propitious times. The 
resources of those already in Britain 
would be augmented, and others would 
reside here, who at present are deterred 
by the difficulties they have to encoun- 
ter. 
Nor is this the whole advantage in 
point of revenue. Goods to the amount 
of sixf millions of pounds are annually 
exported to the colonies; most of which 
articles are taxed in some form or 
other. : 
From these facts, it is clear that the 
West India colomes answer the great 
criterion of political utility, and ought 
therefore to enjoy those benefits to which 
they have such powerful claims. 
Although there has been a_ pretty 
minute detail of those points which have 
been selected by politicians, and the 
importance of which is unquestionable, 
there are some others of great moment, ~ 
as promoting national abjects m an emis 
nent degree. 
The quantity of industry called forth 
by any pursuit, and-the real wealth pro- 
duced by it, form the best eriterion of 
its value. Mr. Bosanquet§ has well 
shewnthat the value of the imports from, 
and exports to, the West India colonies, 
far exceeds that of any trade we have. 
The monopoly Acts secure all the advan- 
~ tages to the mother country, by excluding 
every rival. Vhe demand for British 
produce, the want of which cannot be 
dispensed with, is so enormous as to call 
forth directly and indirectly the energ’es 
of every partofthe empire. Animimense 
number of men are employed by the 
manufacturers, who are thus supported: 
British merchauts, ship-owners, insurance 
brokers, and others, are actuatly maine 
tamed by the West India colonies. 
The materials for some very important 
manufactures are furnished by thei, 
4 
above one-third of the whole of ibe 
Viol wale 
+ Young’s W. Ind. p. 87. 
t Ibid. 
: oe to W. Manning, esq p. 41. &c. on 
the Colonies. 
cottar 
