The Virginia Gazette

Mr. Parks,

Your Publishing the following Piece in the next Gazette, will be at this Time seasonable; and will oblige many of your Readers, as well as

Your humble Servant

M.

R. Touchtruth having twice ventured into Print, and sufficiently exposed his Weakness, should have been left by me to Morose's Banter, which was a more proper Way of answering such Stuff, than any thing serious that could have been said. had he not mentioned a Stint. For if the Planters, whose Case is so much commiserated by the Touchtruths, are not sufficiently convinced of the Usefulness of the Tobacco-Law, by the Price which they have received for their Tobacco, or by the Merchants Reason for repealing it, to wit, that they may buy Tobacco cheaper; I fear, tho' much may be said for it, that Arguments would be used in vain. But, as I believe, many Gentlemen in this Country of better Judgement than Mr. Touchtruth, on whom Reasoning may not be thrown away, for want perhaps of duly considering the Thing, have their Eyes towards a Stint, either to be with, or to succeed the Inspection Law; and being thoroughly convinced of the Impolitickness of it, and the great Prejudice that it would be to us, I thought I could not do my Country Justice, without giving my Sentiments about it.

Was this the only Tobacco-making Colony, so that our Laws would influence the whole Trade, a Stint would then not be so improper a Method of keeping up the Price; but as that is not the Case, and as our Neighbours come in for perhaps half the Trade, if we make any Laws relating thereto, without having an Eye to them, to see at least, that they gain no Advantage over us, we shall do worse than reckon without our Host.

Let us suppose then, that we were stinted to one Half of what we usually plant, the Consequence would be, that the Price would be advanced both to us, and our Neighbours; but where we got one Penny, they would get two; and this poor Relief too, as to us, would be but of short Duration, and bought at a very dear Rate, with no less than the Loss of Half our Trade. For the Inhabitants of the other Colonies finding the great Advantage of making Tobacco, would bend more Force that Way, and in a few Years, fill up the Gap, which we had left open, and make Tobacco as plenty as ever; for we are much mistaken, if we think that they could not supply the Market, (I mean after some Time,) even though we were not to make a Pound. When Matters were come to this Pass, we should, instead of Half, have but a Quarter of the Tobacco-Trade, and our Regulations about it, would have their Influence accordingly: we should therefore be in a worse Capacity by half of advancing the Price of Tobacco, than we are now; and perhaps, in some Time after, by other wise Schemes of the Touchtruths, this Colony may become of as little Consideration in the Tobacco Trade, as Pennsylvania, or North-Carolina, is at present. This unparalleled Piece of Generosity, to wit, the giving away so large a Share of so valuable a Trade, the Gainers, I doubt not, would rather laugh at us than thank us for. I know there are some, who say it would be better for us to have nothing to do with Tobacco, and are for throwing Difficulties in the Way of all Proposals for advancing our Staple; but 'till they can shew us how we may, by any other Commodity, make so large an Annual Remittance to Great-Britain, whither we go directly to the best Market for Goods, I hope, they will be look'd on as mistaken Men, and not to be heard in any Place.

Had the Assembly of Maryland for once the Privilege of making a Law for us, without being obliged to consider our Interest, I cannot see what they could do more for their own Advantage, than leaving themselves at Liberty to hit us, unless it was to prohibit our making Tobacco altogether. Let us not do their Business for them.

Suppose again, in our Mother Country, upon Complaint of the Clothiers, of the Dullness of Trade, any one should propose, that every Farmer should keep but such a Number of Sheep, and that every Labourer in the Manufacture should work but Six Hours in the Day, would they not send the Wronghead back to his Borough of Guzzle down, and bid him meddle only with Matters within his own Comprehension? Would they not tell him, that the French, the Germans, and others, had grown too much upon them in the Woollen Trade already, and that this would give them a great Advantage; that the only Way to improve the Trade, was to make Cloth enough for the Market, of better Quality than their Rivals could, or would be at the Pains of making? Says Mr. Touchtruth, I heartily believe, that there is few, or none more anxious, &c.

Says Sir Francis in the Play, the Dispute was about the Good of the Nation; nor you must know that I always was for the Good of the Nation; but I made a small Mistake at last. for when I should have said YES, I said NO. And the Truth of it is, that such ignorant Men, how well meaning soever, generally mistake the Side of the Question, on which the Good of the Nation lies.

There may be many other Reasons given against a Stint Law; but as they chiefly relate to Difficulties and Inequalities amongst ourselves, without affecting the Trade in general, I chuse to wave them, as Matters of an inferior Consideration to what I have already brought; hoping, that what I have said, is sufficient to prove a Stint to be highly detrimental to our Trade; and that all true Lovers of this Country will avoid so wrong a Step, which, if taken, we may afterwards endeavour to no Purpose to amend.

It may be objected, that we have already had a Stint, and the Consequences which I have mentioned, did not follow; and moreover that it made Provisions plenty.

To this I answer, 1st. That the Law continued but a short Time. 2dly, That it was little or no Stint to the Country in general: It was a Curb to the Industrious, and a Spur to the Lazy; it might be unreasonable, with respect to one another of us, but affected the Trade very little, for the Reason given. As to the Plenty of Provisions then, or Scarcity now, I believe more has been owing to the Hand of Providence, than to our being more or less employ'd in Tobacco. However, allowing the Plenty of Provisions. to be the probable Consequence of a Stint of Tobacco, it would be only the lessening one Trade in order to encrease another; the discouraging our Staple, in which perhaps we out-do all the World, to favour a Trade. in which we are excell'd by most of the Colonies on the Continent, especially by New-England, by means of their Inspection, which the Touchtruths would not be easy under here; I say the Plenty of Provisions, which we speak of, can only be looked on as a Merchandize, or Branch of Trade; for Thanks be to ALMIGHTY GOD, and the seasonable Care of the Government, we never have wanted amongst ourselves.

I shall now conclude, but not as Mr. Touchtruth does, with, Gentlemen, your humble Servant. He no doubt had an Eye all along to his Voters; and by the Time that he came to the End of his Letter, had forgot that he was writing to you : But I, who have no such ambitious Views, and had only a Design to prevent the Mischiefs of a Stint, shall content my self with saying, that

I am your humble Servant,

A

PLANTER.