The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle

Undoubtedly the following Observations will suit other Governments besides Pennsylvania; and if what is recommended be carried on with as much Spirit as it seems to have been begun with, 'tis more than probable the like salutary Ends may be produced.

From the Pennsylvania Journal, of August 23.

To the PRINTER.

HO' my habitation is fixed far from the busy world, in a remote corner of Pennsylvania, and I taste the most refin'd pleasures that can flow from retirement, books, a competency, health, peace, and above all; the delightful and endearing converse of my amiable Eudosia, with our sweet little innocents, those dear pledges of our mutual love, yet I cannot but sympathize and heartily condole with my countrymen, on the present unhappy situation of our trade in this province.

From the accounts I read in your paper, I find a heavy duty is laid on many merchandizes; a total prohibition to the importation of others; and what is still harder, our lumber prohibited to be carried home to Ireland, without being first landed in England. To have the commerce of an infant colony thus clog'd, and in a manner stagnated, is very alarming.

What is your city without trade, and what the country without a market to vend their commodities? I am told trade is become very dull, money very scarce, contracts decrease, law-suits increase so as to double the number of writs issued in every county within two years past; luxury and extravagance abound, and have taken deep root, even to such a degree, that when two hundred pounds, about ten years ago, would have maintain'd a common family for the current year, three times that sum is now become necessary, and indeed that might be afforded while trade, the fountain of wealth and plenty flourished; but as that source fails, and trade droops and sinks her head; wisdom cries aloud to retrench and use our utmost industry, frugality and oeconomy: the policy of every well regulated state advises and encourages this, and of all things, nothing is more necessary than to keep the ballance of trade in its own favour. If Pennsylvania has exercised this policy, she has done well, and it will yet be well with her; but if instead thereof, she has for many years past been carrying on a trade, that has plung'd her in a heavy load of debt to her mother country, from which there is no probable method she can ever recover, and that too chiefly for articles that feed our vanity; minister to luxury and folly; and of no real utility to a good and frugal people, then is she wrong, and her sons too late will find to their sorrow, that they have been trading to their own destruction, and pursuing shadows instead of useful substance. Amidst these alarming reflections, methinks I hear my neighbour ask "what can be done? must poor Pennsylvania languish and die? cannot she again recover and flourish? are the inhabitants so mad with folly, luxury, and vanity, that they will turn a deaf ear to the calls of wisdom and sound reason, and will not retrench? does not Pennsylvania abound with every comfort and convenience of life, or is she under any necessity to seek for them elsewhere?" Whether this province will continue to languish, or whether folly, luxury, and vanity have taken such deep root, that wisdom and reason cannot eradicate, must be left to time only to make manifest; the best is to be hop'd for, and every honest man, no doubt, wishes that the good sense of the people will roue them from their lethargy, and that we shall shortly hear them, one and all cry aloud, "we will be happy, we will no longer or more contract debts; our own country abounds with every comfort of life: these and these only will we make use of." Oh! Halcyon day for this province, when this becomes the voice and conduct of her own sons! We are told there are advantages that arise from being in debt; it shews we are in credit, and half the world live by faith and credit. Strange sentiments! our worthy forefathers, the first settlers of this wilderness, never conceived any such benefit; they dealt on the square, paid as they engag'd, and were happy; but we their children are wiser in our day (in our opinion) than they.

It is a general received opinion, in my neighbourhood, that our present calamities a rie from the selfish spirits of some West-India planters. Some resident in the Islands, others in England, who have at a great expence, got seats in the honourable House of Commons. From the interest of the latter sort we greatly suspect that act was obtain'd, prohibiting the carrying staves directly to Ireland, as thereby they would hope and expect much more of that commodity would be sent to the islands and consequently they would purchase them at a much lower rate: and the same spirit no doubt engages the settlers in some of the islands, on the arrival of a ship there from North-America with bread, flour, &c. to assemble together, fix and settle the price of the northern cargo, and the price of their own commodities, rum, sugar and molasses, to be given in payment for our bread and flour, which prices our supercargoes must accept and submit to, or which would be much worse, unload his cargo, store it, continue there several months to retail it by the barrel, and send the ship home empty, without the least returns for her cargo; and the prices thus arbitrarily fixed on our goods often proving less than the sum paid for them here to the farmer; so that the Philadelphia merchants, upon the whole adventure, must infallibly loose the expence of freight, commission, and insurance, besides part of his capital, and the price by those worthy gentlemen fixed and set upon their West-India rum, sugar, and molasses, is often higher than those commodities will sell for here. And thus the northern colonies are to be made the dupes, hewers of wood, and drawers of water to a few West-India planters: and to compleat their plan, and more effectually to distress us, they have prevail'd with the English parliament to prohibit us from sending even a barrel stave to our di strest countrymen in Ireland. And yet for all these tender and cruel mercies of our West-India brethren, how have we behaved? like good christians patiently submitted to their impositions for our good flour, &c. without which they must have periihed.

Within the last twelve months we have re ceived from them 650 hhds. 397 tierces, and 70 bls, of rum which will amount to about 72300 gallons. Now it is humbly proposed and submitted to the consideration of our su periors, whether a moderate duty should not be laid and imposed on the importation of this destructive intoxicating liquor, to be applied to such publick uses as shall be judg'd most expe dient, and thereby answer this great benefit of having less imported, and the health and mo rals of the poorer people better pre served.

We hear that a great number of gentlemen in the city have actually engag'd Suits of cloth to be
spun and wove in this province, and deliver'd to them this fall, in order to be made up for their own wear, and are determined henceforward to have no part of their dress, but of the manufac ture of their own country. A most laudable reso lution; and heartily to be wish'd may be followed and carried into practice by every true son and lover of Pennsylvania; since by this method alone, we may hope to rescue ourselves from inevitable ruin by avoiding to add to that enormous load of debt we have already contracted with our mother coun try; and which has obliged us for want of other remittances, to send them most of the dollars cur rent in this province. And as many thousand pounds sterling have been annually paid by this province for English beer, cyder and cheefe; it is humbly recommended to the good people to exercise some oeconomy to these articles also since most ex cellent cheefe is made in Chester county, beer in the city very near as good as any imported, and better cyder in the county of Berks, than ever was or will be made in England, with all which articles any person may be reasonably and plentifully sup plied in the city: and instead of rum punch, and nauseous toddy, which the physicians tell us are very unwholsome, we hope to see the fashionable drink. and no other drink called for, than the beer and cyder of Pennsylvania. Have a little patience, and our province will afford those who cannot do without wine, as good burgundy as ever was made in France; and as good white wine produced from the natural grape of the country, with a little culti vation, as ever in Madeira.

Arouse then thou Genius of Pennsylvania! No longer keep silence! Proclaim aloud! Sound it a gain and again! Tell its sons they are free, and may be happy if they please! Tell them there is no advantage in stripping the Province of its curren cy; no benefit in drinking West-India rum; no benefit in wearing English woollens, but dishonour able, while they can wear their own manufactures! Tell them of the great discredit they draw on them selves by eating English cheefe, and drinking En glish beer and cyder, while they have better made at home! Tell the fair ladies also, how much more amiable they will appear in decent plain dresses made in their own country, than in the gaudy, butterfly vain, fantastick, and expensive dresses brought from Europe, to pay for which (did they know the whole truth) their industrious parents or husbands must greatly labour and toil: and if after all that has been but barely hinted at, neither gentlemen or ladies will be admonish'd, but continue in their present state of luxury and folly, let them go on, and in the end they will find they are infallibly undone.

The FARMER.