"Any indulgence of this sort would certainly divert the trade out of its present channel--the people of New England are an enterprising people, the number of their ports and the locality of their situation favor the increase of seamen. They navigate their vessels frugally and their outfits are infinitely less expensive than the outfits of Brit. vessels. When once admitted to trade with the W. India Islands, ship building which has lain dormant, almost, and which was formerly a source of great profit to this country, would instantly be revived--_America would soon monopolize_ the advantages of carrying; limited as to size the numbers of her vessels would be increased, and by increasing the numbers would supply the means of conveying all the produce of America which is consumed in our islands, and that, too, at a much cheaper rate than any other nation could afford. But the enterprising spirit of the people of New England would, as soon as they found the channels of profit open, be exerted to the raising a maritime force which in case of future war might operate very detrimentally to the interests of England." That Bond was encouraged in this kind of work appears from the fact that he was promoted later. There was no detail of American business too small to escape the careful attention of the British government in its efforts to throw what Bond called an "early check or restraint" upon all American progress, and especially upon the prosperity of American shipping. A comparison, briefly made, of the laws and regulations of England and the United States follows:-- The British prohibited American vessels from entering the ports of their West India Islands, Canada, and other American possessions, and their East India spice market. We admitted British vessels into all our ports on payment of a tonnage tax of fifty cents per ton (our ships paid six cents per ton), and goods brought in British ships paid a revenue duty of 10 per cent more than goods in ours. In the treaty made in 1794 the British offered to let our vessels of no more than seventy tons enter their West Indies on condition that we would admit British ships of any size on payment of the same tax and duty as our own. The British imposed double lighthouse taxes on American vessels bound to any port in England except London. We imposed no extra lighthouse dues. British merchants were prohibited from using American-built vessels in a number of trades. We allowed our merchants to use British-built vessels in any trade on payment of the extra dues mentioned above. The British prohibited the importation of goods by American vessels from every country except the United States. We permitted the British vessels to bring us goods from all countries. The British prohibited the importation of some of our agricultural products during specified periods of time, and of some at all times. We admitted the importation of all British agricultural products at all times.