The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle

LONDON. November 18.

Account of some fresh Difficulties which have arisen in the North-American Trade. In a Letter from America.

The Regulations made during the last Session of Parliament, though intended to liberate the Trade of this Country, has nevertheless laid it under fresh difficulties. 'Tis true, the Stamp-Act has been repealed: and the Duty on Molasses reduced from three-pence to a Penny per gallon. The first of these Indulgences is undoubtedly a great Relief to the Americans; but as the Price of Molasses is but six pence a gallon, the Duty of a Penny is too high on an article so essential to almost-every branch of our commerce. that without it we could not take off a third of those manufactures which we annually import from the mother country.

The exportation of foreign sugars from hence to the foreign parts of Europe, was a very considerable object to English Americans, and enabled them to send large remittances to your side of the water for manufactures; but this exportation is now clogged up with such expences, that we cannot meet the Merchants of any other nation, upon an equal footing, at any of the European markets.

Let me also tell you a consequence which has just resulted by prohibiting our importation of Rum from the foreign islands of the West-Indies. A rich company of Merchants in Holland, have lately agreed with the Planters to take off as much of their sugars, &c. as his Danish Majesty permitted them to export to foreign countries, and have even lent them 200,000l. sterling at 6 per cent. interest for twenty years, provided the Planters buy what foreign manufactures they import intirely from the Dutch. Formerly we used to furnish the Danish Islands with the principal part of their manufactures, and their rum was of the greatest use in our African Trade, our inland intercourses, and our various fisheries: but when the Danes saw that we were no longer to deal with them, they very sensibly declined dealings with us, and now all those advantages are entirely engrossed by the Dutch, which were formerly enjoyed by the subjects of England.

AMERICUS.