An Essay on the State of England: In Relation to Its Trade, Its Poor, and Its Taxes, for Carrying on the Present War Against FranceCary, John
History
An Essay on the State of England: In Relation to Its Trade, Its Poor, and Its Taxes, for Carrying on the Present War Against France
Cary, John
Great Britain -- Commercial policy; Poor -- England
The true Interest then of _Ireland_ being Husbandry, Trade and
Manufactures stand diametrically opposite thereto; for Trade being of it
self less laborious, and the Poor maintained thereby living more easie
than such as are employed in the Field, doth invite them rather to settle
in that way than the other; this is the reason why such Multitudes of
People daily flock into Cities from the Country, if they have either
Encouragement themselves, or can foresee any for their Children, whereas
few withdraw from Trade to the Labour of a Country Life; of this we have
an eminent Example in _New England_, which tho' it was the first peopled,
and by its Trade hath drawn thither great Numbers of Inhabitants, yet
that large Colony hath not cultivated so much Ground as far less Numbers
have in other Plantations much later setled; for whereas in them the
Product was thought to be their Wealth, and therefore the Setlers
disperst themselves, and with all the Assistance they could get
endeavoured to clear and fit the Ground for breaking up, these took
another Course, and by keeping together chose rather to live on Buying
and Selling, by which means their Improvements are very small, and their
Product of no value suitable to their Numbers, so that it seems at
present rather a Magazine of Trade, their chief Imployment being to
supply the other _American_ Plantations with Fish catch'd on the Coasts,
and some other things raised near the Seaside, and in Returns bring
thence the Commodities of their Growth, which they again barter with us,
or Ship to Markets themselves, and here it is to be noted that the great
Ballance of their Ttade is Ships, which (having plenty of Timber) they
build on reasonable Rates, either for Sale, or to be imployed for
transporting their own Commodities, which being generally bulky, such as
Timber, Mackrill, Bread, Horses, for the Plantations, and Codfish for
_Europe_, great part of their value arises from their Freights; This was
indeed their oversight at first, and now scarce to be retrieved; for had
they then began with Planting, and followed that closely for some time,
they might in all probability long since have made themselves Masters of
a greater Product, which would have laid the foundations of a much larger
Trade both to _Europe_ and other places in _America_; they are indeed a
thrifty sort of People, but want Commodities of their own Product, and
the Profits of a Nations Trade being very much limited according to that,
if the Parliament should think fit by new Laws to hinder the Freedom they
now enjoy in our _American_ Plantations (which I judge absolutely
necessary, because so much abused by their carrying those Commodities to
Foreign Markets without touching first in _England_, to the lessening our
Customs, and discouraging our Merchants here) their Trade must sink, and
they see their error too late.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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