That the whole American people was forbidden the advantage of a direct importation of wine, oil and fruit from Portugal but must take them loaded with all the expense of a voyage, one thousand leagues about, being to be landed first in England, to be re-shipped for America, ... and all this, merely that a few Portugal merchants in London may gain a commission on those goods passing through their hands.... That on a slight complaint of a few Virginia merchants, nine colonies had been restrained from making paper money, become absolutely necessary to their internal commerce, from the constant remittance of their gold and silver to Britain.... Iron is to be found everywhere in America, and the beaver furs are the natural produce of that country. Hats and nails and steel are wanted there as well as here. It is of no importance to the common welfare of the empire, whether a subject of the King’s obtains his living by making hats on this or on that side of the water. Yet the hatters of England have prevailed to obtain an act in their own favour, restraining that manufacture in America; in order to oblige the Americans to send their beaver to England to be manufactured, and purchase back the hats, loaded with the charges of double transportation. In the same manner have a few nail-makers, and a still smaller body of steel-makers (perhaps there are not half a dozen of these in England) prevailed totally to forbid by an Act of Parliament the erecting of slitting-mills or steel-furnaces in America; that the Americans may be obliged to take all their nails for their buildings, and steel for their tools, from these artificers under the same disadvantages. AMERICAN NON-IMPORTATION POLICY (Callender, _Econ. Hist. of U.S._, pp. 151-54 (summarized). _Journal of the Continental Congress_, 1774, I, p. 75)