But by the late treaty made with his present Majesty at Madrid, the said duties are again reduced, according to the aforesaid treaty of 1667, and the deduction of the gratias is established as an inviolable law; whereas, before, the gratias of the farmers, particularly, were altogether precarious, and depended entirely upon courtesy.

That the common reader may understand the nature of these gratias, he must know, that when the king of Spain had laid higher duties upon our English goods than what the merchants were able or willing to comply with, he used to abate a certain part; which indulgence, or abatement, went under the name of a gratia. But when he had farmed out these his customs to several of his subjects, the farmers, in order to draw more merchandise to their respective ports, and thereby to increase their own particular profits, used to make new abatements, or gratias, to the British merchants, endeavouring sometimes to outvie one another in such indulgences, and by that means to get a greater proportion of custom into their own hands.

But to proceed: the duties on exportation may be computed to be raised, by the Utrecht treaty, near as much as the aforesaid duties of importation; whereas, by the treaty made with his present Majesty, they are reduced to their ancient standard.

Complaint having been made, that the Spaniards, after the suspension of arms, had taken several New England and other British ships gathering salt at the island of Tertuga, a very full and just report concerning that affair was laid before her late Majesty, of which I shall give the reader the following extract:

"Your Majesty's subjects have, from the first settlement of the continent of America, had a free access to this island; and have, without interruptions, unless in time of war, used to take what salt they pleased there and we have proofs of that usage for above fifty years, as appears by certificates of persons who have been employed in that trade.

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"It doth not appear, upon the strictest inquiry, that the Spaniards ever inhabited or settled on the said island; nor is it probable they ever did, it being either all barren rock or dry sand, and having no fresh water or provisions in it. "We take leave to lay before your Majesty, the consequence of your Majesty's subjects being prohibited to fetch

salt at Tertuga; which will in part appear from the number of ships using that trade, being, as we are informed, one year with another, about a hundred sail.

"The salt carried from thence to New England is used chiefly for curing of fish, which is either cod, scale-fish, or mackerel: the former of which is the principal branch of the returns made from the continent to Great Britain by way of Spain, Portugal, and the Straits, for the woollen and other goods sent from this kingdom thither. Besides which, the scale-fish and mackerel are of such consequence, that the sugar-islands cannot subsist without them, their negroes being chiefly supported by this fish: so that if they were not supplied therewith from New England (which they cannot be, if your Majesty's subjects are prohibited from getting salt at Tertuga) they would not be able to carry on their sugar-works. This hath been confirmed to us by several considerable planters concerned in those parts.

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Upon the whole, your Majesty's subjects having enjoyed an uninterrupted usage of gathering salt at Tertuga, ever since the first settlement of the continent as aforesaid, we humbly submit to your Majesty the consequence of preserying that usage and right upon which the trade of your Majesty's plantations so much depends."

Notwithstanding it appears from what is above-written, that our sugar-islands were like to suffer considerably for want of fish from New England, no care was taken to have this matter remedied by the explanatory articles, which were posterior to the above-mentioned report.

However, in the third article of the treaty made with his present Majesty, this business is fully settled to our advantage.

The British merchants having had several hardships put upon them at Bilboa, which occasioned the decay of our trade at that place, the said merchants did make and execute, in the year 1700, a treaty of privileges with the magistrates and inhabitants of St. Ander, very much to the advantage of this kingdom, in order to their removing and settling there; the effect of which was prevented by the death of King Charles the Second of Spain, and the war which soon after ensued. This matter, it seems, was slighted or neglected by the managers of the Utrecht treaty; for, by the fourteenth article of that treaty, there is only "a liberty given

to the British subjects to settle and dwell at St. Ander, upon the terms of the ninth and thirteenth articles of the treaty of 1667," which are general. But no regard was had to the forementioned treaty of privileges in 1700; whereas, by the second article of the treaty now made with his present Majesty, the forementioned treaty of privileges with St. Ander is not ratified.

Another considerable advantage is, that the French, by the treaty made with his present Majesty, are to pay the same duties at the dry ports, through which they pass by land-carriage, as we pay upon importation or exportation by sea; which was not provided for by the Utrecht treaty.

By the cedulas annexed to the treaty of 1667, the valuable privileges of having judge-conservators (appointed to make a more speedy and less expensive determination of all controversies arising in trade) was fully established. But by the fifteenth article of Utrecht that privilege was in effect given up. For it is therein only stipulated, "That in case any other nation have that privilege, we shall in like manner enjoy it." But by the fifth article of the treaty now made with his present Majesty, it is stipulated, that we shall enjoy all the rights, privileges, franchises, exemptions, and immunities whatsoever, which we enjoyed by virtue of the royal cedulas or ordinances by the treaty of 1667." So that hereby the privilege of judge-conservators is again confirmed to us.

As nothing but the reputation of his Majesty in foreign countries, and of his fixed purposes to pursue the real good of his kingdoms, could bring about treaties of this nature; so it is impossible to reflect with patience on the folly and ingratitude of those men who labour to disturb him in the midst of these his royal cares, and to misrepresent his generous endeavours for the good of his people.

SEVERAL authors have written on the advantage of trade in general; which is, indeed, so copious a subject, that as it

is impossible to exhaust it in a short discourse, so it is very difficult to observe anything new upon it. I shall, therefore, only consider trade in this paper, as it is absolutely necessary and essential to the safety, strength, and prosperity of our own nation.

In the first place, As we are an island accommodated on all sides with convenient ports, and encompassed with navigable seas, we should be inexcusable, if we did not make these blessings of Providence and advantages of nature turn to their proper account. The most celebrated merchants in the world, and those who make the greatest figure in antiquity, were situated in the little island of Tyre, which, by the prodigious increase of its wealth and strength at sea, did very much influence the most considerable kingdoms and empires on the neighbouring continent, and gave birth to the Carthaginians, who afterwards exceeded all other nations in naval power. The old Tyre was, indeed, seated on the continent, from whence the inhabitants, after having been besieged by the great king of Assyria, for the space of thirteen years, withdrew themselves and their effects into the island of Tyre; where, by the benefit of such a situation, a trading people were enabled to hold out for many ages against the attempts of their enemies, and became the merchants of the world.

Further, as an island, we are accessible on every side, and exposed to perpetual invasions, against which it is impossible to fortify ourselves sufficiently, without such a power at sea, as is not to be kept up, but by a people who flourish in commerce. To which we must add, that our inland towns being destitute of fortifications, it is our indispensable concern to preserve this our naval strength, which is as a general bulwark to the British nation.

Besides, as an island, it has not been thought agreeable to the true British policy to make acquisitions upon the continent. In lieu, therefore, of such an increase of dominion, it is our business to extend to the utmost our trade and navigation. By this means, we reap the advantages of conquest, without violence or injustice; we not only strengthen ourselves, but gain the wealth of our neighbours in an honest way; and, without any act of hostility, lay the several nations of the world under a kind of contribution.

Secondly, Trade is fitted to the nature of our country, as

it abounds with a great profusion of commodities of its own growth, very convenient for other countries, and is naturally destitute of many things suited to the exigencies, ornaments, and pleasures of life, which may be fetched from foreign parts. But, that which is more particularly to be remarked, our British products are of such kinds and quantities, as can turn the balance of trade to our advantage, and enable us to sell more to foreigners than we have occasion to buy from them.

To this we must add, that by extending a well-regulated trade, we are as great gainers by the commodities of many other countries, as by those of our own nation; and by supplying foreign markets with the growth and manufactures of the most distant regions, we receive the same profit from them, as if they were the produce of our own island.

Thirdly, We are not a little obliged to trade, as it has been a great means of civilizing our nation, and banishing out of it all the remains of its ancient barbarity. There are many bitter sayings against islanders in general, representing them as fierce, treacherous, and inhospitable. Those who live on the continent have such opportunities of a frequent intercourse with men of different religions and languages, and who live under different laws and governments, that they become more kind, benevolent, and open-hearted, to their fellow-creatures, than those who are the inhabitants of an island, that hath not such conversations with the rest of the species. Cæsar's observation upon our forefathers is very much to our present purpose; who remarks, that those of them that lived upon the coast or in sea-port towns, were much more civilized, than those who had their dwellings in the inland country, by reason of frequent communications with their neighbours on the continent.

In the last place, Trade is absolutely necessary for us, as our country is very populous. It employs multitudes of hands both by sea and land, and furnishes the poorest of our fellow-subjects with the opportunities of gaining an honest livelihood. The skilful or industrious find their account in it; and many, who have no fixed property in the soil of our country, can make themselves masters of as considerable estates as those who have the greatest portions of the land descending to them by inheritance.

If what has been often charged upon us by our neighbours