From what has been before observed, we presume it will be admitted that every equitable method ought to be pursued and put in practice by Great Britain, to secure to herself as much as possible the African trade, in order to prevent the French purchasing Negroes. For the same reason we take all the measures we possibly can, to hinder the smuggling of wool, or any of our artificers and manufacturers going to France. It cannot be too much insisted on that the Negroes are of as much consequence and use for the cultivation of our colonies, as the wool is to our manufactory, for these obvious reasons; that the Negroes are the artificers, manufacturers, and labourers in the colonies; because the whole process, from clearing and preparing the ground to plant the sugar cane, and manufacturing it into sugar and rum, and the putting it on board the ships, is the work of Negroes; therefore it surely must be very prejudicial to our interest to sell any of those useful people to the French, even were they to pay gold or silver for them: there are, besides, much more cogent reasons to be given why we should exert ourselves to prevent the French, as much as we can, carrying them from Africa. If there should at any time be more Negroes brought to the British colonies than are necessary for the cultivation there, which we have great reason to believe is seldom, or perhaps will never be the case, then such Negroes may be sold to the Spaniards or Portuguese, because they would pay gold or silver for them; and moreover, the slaves so disposed of, would be employed in the mines of America, and not in cultivating sugar and other plantation produce, as would be the consequence if the French were allowed to be the purchasers; by which means they would be effectually enabled to become our rivals in trade, as well on account of their national encouragement and advantages peculiar to them, by which they may be capacitated to sell the product of their plantations considerably cheaper than we can ours at foreign markets[17].