GREAT BRITAIN.

S the general Way of Thinking now reigning

Commerce, we believe the two following Reprefentations laid before the Parliament laft Seffions, will be acceptable to our Readers, as they come from the Board of Commiffioners for Trade and Plantations, who may be fuppofed to be the best informed of every Thing relating to that important Subject; and as they have been the Foundation of two Laws made this Seffion; the first of which relates to our Plantations, the second to our Woollen Trade.

The firft REPRESENTATION.

To the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain in Parlia ment assembled.

H'

IS Majesty having been pleased, upon the Addrefs of this Honourable House, (by his Order, bearing Date the 9th Day of June last) to direct the Commiffioners for Trade and Plantations, to prepare a Reprefentation to be laid before the House this Seffion of Parliament, of the State of his Majefty's Colonies and Plantations in America, with respect to any Laws made, Manufactures fet up, and Trade carry'd on there, which may affect the Trade, Navigation, and Manufactures of this Kingdom.

We did forthwith fend Circular Letters to all the Governors of the British Colonies in America, directing them to tranfmit an exact and particular Account of the Matters mention'd in the said Order, that we might be the better enabled to make a punctual and authentick Return upon proper Vouchers to the House.

But by the Addrefs upon this Subject, (which was moved very late the laft Seffion of Parliament) having been again repeated the 15th of laft Month, we thought it our Duty to inform the House of the true State of this Matter, and to take their Sense in what Manner the Board fhould conduct themselves upon this Occafion, viz. Whether the Houfe would accept of fuch Report as we are able to make from the Books and Papers in our Of

fice,

fice, or wait the Returns from the Governors of the British Colonies in America.

And it feeming to be the Senfe of this Houfe, that the Board fhould make fuch a Report as they were then able to draw up from the Books and Papers in their Office; we have accordingly done fo, having fince that Time received Returns from Maryland, New York, New England, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Jamaica, whereupon we humbly reprefent:

That it being required to lay before this House a State of his Majefty's Colonies in America, with Refpect to any Laws made, Manufactures fet up, or Trade car, ried on there, detrimental to the Trade, Navigation, or Manufactures of Great Britain; we fhall begin with what regards the Laws, and premife fome Particulars relating to the Conftitution of the feveral Colonies, and to the Powers vested in them for paffing of Laws,

Many of the British Colonies in America are immediately under the Government of the Crown, namely, Nova Scotia, New Hampshire, the Jerfies, New York, Virginia, the two Carolina's, Bermuda, Bahama Islands, Jamaica, Barbadoes, and the Leeward Islands; others are vefted in Proprietors, as Pensilvania, Maryland, and not long fince the Bahama's, and the two Carolina's alfo : There are likewife three Charter Governments; the chief of thefe is the Mafachuffets Bay, commonly called New England; the Conflitution whereof is of a mixed Nature; where the Power feems to be divided between the King and People, but in which the People have much the greater Share; for here the People do not only chufe the Affembly, but the Affembly chufe the Council alfo, and the Governor depends upon the Affem, bly for his annual Support, which has fo frequently laid the Governor of this Province under Temptations of giving up the Prerogative of the Crown, and the Interest of Great Britain.

The remaining Provinces, Connecticut, and Rhode Ifland, are Charter Governments alfo, or rather Corporations, where almoft the whole Power of the Crown is delegated to the People; for they chufe their Affembly, their Council and their Governor likewife annually, and hold little or no Correspondence with our Office.

All these Colonies however, by their feveral Conftitutions, have Power of making Laws for their better Government and Support, provided they be not repug

nant

nant to the Laws of Great Britain, nor detrimental to their Mother Country.

In the Massachufet's Bay alfo, if their Laws are not repealed within three Years after they have been prefented to his Majesty, they are not repealable by the Crown after that Time.

The Provinces of Maryland, Connecticut, and Rhode Ifland not being under any Obligation by their respective Conftitutions to return authentick Copies of their Laws to the Crown for Approbation or Difallowance, or to give any Account of their Proceedings, we are very little informed what is doing in any of these Govern

ments.

All the Governors of Colonies (which are under Appointment) ought within a reasonable Time to tranfmit home authentick Copies of the feveral Acts by them paffed, to go through a proper Examination, but are fometimes negligent in their Duty in this particular, and pafs Temporary Laws of fhort Continuance, that they have their full Effect before this Board can acquire due Notice of them: Some Attempts have been made to prevent this pernicious Practice, and many Laws have from Time to Time been repealed on that Ac

count.

And from the conftant Difcharge of our Duty herein, it has fo happened, that upon the moft diligent Enquiry into all the Acts paffed in the feveral British Colonies fince the Acceffion of his late Majefty to the Throne, there are none that have yet come to our Knowledge, ftill remaining unrepealed or unexpired, which are liable to Objection, excepting thofe only in the following Lift, and even against them no Complaint has been made to this Board until very lately, viz.

In Maffachufet's Bay.

An A&t paffed in the Year 1728, entitled, An Att for the Encouragement of making Paper.

This Manufacture has hitherto made but a very small Progrefs, and can hardly be faid, in a ftrict Senfe, to interfere with our own Paper, because almost all the Paper fent to New England from hence is foreign Manufacture; but it certainly interferes with the Profit made by the British Merchant upon foreign Paper fent to this Province; however no Complaints have ever been made to us against this Law.

By the Return to our Circular Letter from the Governor of New Hampshire, wo are informed, that an Act

paffed

paffed many Years fince in that Province for encoura ging of Iron Works, by which the Exportation of Iron Oar is prohibited, but upon the moft diligent Enquiry no fuch Act is to be found in our Office; and we be lieve none fuch was ever tranfmitted to this Board; however, not knowing whether this A&t might not have paffed fince the late King's Acceffion, we have inferted in this Lift.

In New York.

A Law paffed in the Year 1728, entitled, An Act to repeal fome Parts, and to continue and enforce other Parts of the Act therein mentioned, and for granting feveral Duties to his Majefty for fupporting his Government in the Colony of New York, from the firft of September, which will be in the Year 1733; wherein (among other Duties) one was laid of five Ounces of Plate, or forty Shillings in Bills of Credit on every Negro imported from Africa, and a Duty of four Pounds on every Negro imported from any other Place.

The Plantations in all Times paft have laid Duties upon the Importation of Negroes; and as the Merchants have naturally increafed their Price in Proportion to thofe Duties, fo it is but lately that Complaints have been made against thefe Duties (unless they went to Excefs;) but the Board are of Opinion, that it would be more for the Convenience of the Trade, that these Duties fhould for the future be paid by the Purchaser, than by the Importer; and his Majefty has (upon our Reprefentation) been pleafed to fend an Inftruction to that Effect to all the Governors in America.

By the Charter of Penfilvania it has already been obferved, that the Proprietor is obliged to offer the Laws of the Province to the Crown for Approbation or Dif allowance within five Years after they are paffed; and if his Majefty does not think fit to repeal them in fix Months from the Time they are fo offered, it is not in the Power of the Crown to repeal them afterwards ; but fince the Year 1715, this Article of the Charter has been evaded, and the Laws of this Province have not been tranfmitted to this Board (except occafionally an Act or two) fo that we are not enabled to lay a State of the Laws of this Province before the Houfe.

That, upon a late Petition to his Majefty from the Merchants of London, in Behalf of themselves and others, complaining that as the Law now ftands in fome of the Colonies, his Subjects refiding in Great Britain are left

without

without any Remedy for the Recovery of their just Debts, or have fuch only as is very partial and precarious, as alfo that in feveral of the faid Colonies and Plantations greater and higher Duties and Impofitions are laid on the Ships and Goods belonging to his Subjects in Great Britain, than on the Goods and Ships of Perfons inhabiting the said Colonies and Plantations.

The faid Merchants being defired to acquaint the Board, whether they knew of any particular Laws in the Colonies against which they had Reafon to object; they did deliver to us a Lift of Laws, wherein the faid Colonies appear to have been very partial in their own Favour; in fome of them exempting their Perfons from Arrefts, in others, giving a Preference to the Inhabitants before the British Merchants in the Recovery of Debts; and enacting Duties, where a lefs Burthen is laid upon their own Effects, than upon thofe of the British Merchant.

We beg Leave to acquaint this Houfe, that pur fuant to an Order of the Committee of Council, this Board did on the Fifth of December, 1728, make a very particular Enquiry into the State of the Plantations at that Time with refpect to Silk, Linnen and Woollen Manufactures eftablished there, and having then difcourfed with many Perfons who had either been Governors of fome of the Colonies, or were by other Means well acquainted with their Circumftances, it appeared to this Board, and we did accordingly reprefent,

That in the Colonies of New-England, New-York, Connecticut, Rhode-Island, Penfylvania, and in the County of Somerset in Maryland, the People had fallen into the Manufacture of Woollen and Linnen Cloth for the Ufe of their own Families, but we could not learn they had ever manufactured any for Sale in thofe Colonies, except in a small Indian Town in Penfylvania, where fome Palatines had then lately fettled.

The Reasons why thefe People had begun this Ma nufacture were,

ift, That the Product of thefe Colonies being chiefly Stock and Grain, the Eftates of the Inhabitants depended wholly upon Farming, and as this could not be carried on without a certain Quantity of Sheep, their Wool would be entirely loft, were not their Servants em ployed at leifure Times of the Year, but chiefly during F

the