CO885(1-2) — Page 237

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference -

C.O. 885

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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or Wales, or (on paying a duty) to some other English plantation. They could not go to Scot- land or Ireland.

c. Nothing could be imported into, or ex- ported from, a plantation, except in an English ship.

d. No produce of any part of the world could be imported into this country, except directly from the country of its origin, or from the usual place of shipment.

e. No produce of Asia, Africa, or America, could be imported at all, except in British ships. f. No produce of Russia or of Turkey, nor any of the articles (about twenty) enumerated in the Act of Navigation, could be imported from Europe, except either in British ships or in ships of the country of which the goods were the pro- duce, or from which they were usually first exported.

g. No sort of wines, other than Rhenish; no sort of spicery, grocery, tobacco, potashes, pitch, tar, salt, rosin, deal boards, fir timber, or olive oil, could be imported from the Nether- lands or Germany, in any ship or vessel what--

soever.

These were the leading features of our Navi- gation Laws at the close of the seventeenth century.

The first important modification of the system took place about the middle of the eighteenth, by the introduction of what is called the "Free- port Act." The origin of that Act was this: The restrictions placed by Spain upon the commerce of her possessions in America, were still greater than those in force in our colonies. The whole import and export trade of the Spanish West Indies appears to have been rigorously confined to intercourse with the mother-country. This drove the Spaniards into an illicit trade, at all

risks, with some of their neighbours; and as a very profitable market was thus provided for the manufactures of this country, our authorities for

a long time connived at its being carried on

It appears that by a circular letter addressed to Governors

of colonies in 1685, they were directed not to enforce the law against Spanish ships coming to Jamaica or Barbadoes with the produce of the Spanish West Indies.

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with Jamaica and other colonies, contrary to our Navigation Laws. Our law required that the importations should be in British vessels; but as these were excluded from the Spanish colonies, the only practicable method of escaping the guarda costas, was by admitting Spanish boats. This was done till 1764, when for some reason or other our Government* sent out orders to enforce the Navigation Law strictly. This mea. sure drove the Spaniards from our ports; and the result was, that in 1765 the exports from Great Britain to Jamaica alone fell short of those

in 1763, by no less a sum than 168,000,† Iin 1766, the law was altered, by opening certain ports in Dominica and Jamaica to foreign one- decked vessels, with certain produce of the Foreign West Indies. This Act was afterwards extended by many subsequent statutes (of which some account will be found in the notice of the progressive changes of the law affecting the plantation trade‡), but it was not till 1810 that the distinctive condition that the imports should be in one-decked (i. e., in smuggling) vessels was abandoned.

Though the relaxation thus introduced has extended led by degrees to the opening of a more trade to our colonies, it was not at first relished

by them, as it did not enable them to import the articles they needed, but rather those articles which came in competition with their own pro- duce. The relaxation was made for Imperial interests, and persevered in, notwithstanding colonial opposition, for the encouragement of British trade and manufactures; it being shown that we got our indigo and cotton 30 per cent. cheaper through Jamaica than through Europes. Mr. Burke describes the Free-port Act as one by which "materials were provided and insured to our manufactures; the sale of these manufactures

It was the Act of the Grenville Administration, and is included in Mr. Burke's sweeping censure on their colonial policy: They were possessed with something hardly short of a rage for regulation and restriction," &c.

+ Edwards' West Indies," vol. i, p. 294. It must have been about one-fourth of the whole export. See also Burke'

Observations on a late State of the Nation," Appendix. See the comparative view already referred to (p. 12). Edwards, vol. i., p. 298.