1715. Boston Lighthouse. The legislature of Massachusetts passed an act for erecting a lighthouse on Beacon Island, at the entrance of Boston harbour.

Pig and Bar Iron began about this time to be made in Virginia.

1716. Exports from the Mississippi.-Two ships went to France, richly laden, from the river Mississippi; and these were the first which carried over any merchandise from the Louisiana colony since its settlement.

Fish from Newfoundland.-From the Newfoundland fishery, there were exported this year, to Spain, Portugal, and Italy, 106,952 quintals of fish.

1717. New Orleans Founded.-In expectation of great advantages from the trade and commerce of Louisiana, the French this year founded New Orleans.

The Trade of Massachusetts employed 3493 sailors and 492 ships, of 25,406 tons. 1718. Import Bill of Massachusetts.-An import bill was passed by the legislature of Massachusetts, which laid a duty, on West India goods and wines, and on English manufactures, and a duty of tonnage on English ships. The duty on English goods was one per cent. Before the session in May, next year, the governor received instructions from the king to give all encouragement to the manufactures of Great Britain, and afterward received a reprimand from the lords justices, the king being absent, for consenting to the duty on English goods, &c. The court, on receiving official notice of this reprimand, "readily acknowledged the exceptions taken to that clause in the bili, were just and reasonable.'

1719. Lotteries Suppressed.-Massachusetts passed an act for suppressing lotteries. 1720. Trade with the French Prohibited.—An act was passed for prohibiting the sale of Indian goods to the French.

Tea began to be used in New England about this time.

North-west Passage Attempted. - The Hudson-Bay Company sent out Captains Dwight and Barlow, with a ship and a sloop, for the purpose of making discoveries and finding a passage to China, by the north-west parts of America; but they were never heard of afterwards.

1722. Trading-House Erected at Oswego.-Governor Burnett, of New York, in order to command Lake Ontario, for the benefit of the fur trade and the friendship of the Six Nations, and to frustrate the commerce of the French, erected a trading-house at Oswego, in the country of the Senecas.

1723. Pennsylvania Paper Currency. This province issued in March 15,000l. It made no loans but on land security, or plate, deposited in the loan-office; obliged the borrower to pay five per cent; made its bills a tender in all payments, on pain of confiscating the debt, or forfeiting the commodity; imposed penalties on all persons who presumed to make any bargain or sale on cheaper terms, in case of being paid in gold or silver; and provided for the gradual reduction of the bills, by enacting that one-eighth of the principal, as well as the whole interest, should be annually paid. The advantage of this first issue, induced the government, in the latter end of the year, to issue a further sum of 30,000l. on the same terms.

1724. Trade of Carolina.-There were this year imported into South Carolina, 493 slaves; also British goods and manufactures, to the value of between 50,000l. and 60,000l. sterling.

From the different harbours of Newfoundland there were exported this year, in fifty-nine vessels, 111,000 quintals of fish.

1727. Act Respecting Salt.-The parliament of England passed an act for the importing of salt into Pennsylvania, by British ships, regulated by the acts of navigation, for curing fish, in like manner as was allowed to New England and Newfoundland.

1728. Exports from Carolina.-The province was divided this year into two distinct governments, North and South Carolina. The exports of rice from South Carolina, during ten years, were 26,488 barrels, about 44,081 tons.

All the acts of Governor Burnett, for the prohibition of the trade between Albany and Montreal, repealed by the king.

1730. Whale Fishery, &c.—The whale fishery on the North American shores must, about this time, have been very important; for there arrived in England, from these coasts, in the month of July, 9200 tuns of train and whale oil, and 154 tons of whalebone. During

the first fifteen days of July, there arrived at London, from the American sugar colonies, upwards of 10,000 hogsheads of sugar, and 15,000 gallons of rum, and half as much more was computed to have been carried to Bristol, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

Exports from the Colonies.-Iron and copper ore, bees'-wax, hemp, and raw silk, the products of Virginia, were first exported from that colony to Great Britain; 50,000 weight of hemp, raised in New England and Carolina, were exported to England; seventytwo bags of wool, the product of Jamaica, St. Christopher's, and other West India islands, were exported thither, and great quantities of peltry, by the Hudson's Bay Company "All these articles," says Anderson, in his Annals, "excepting the last, were entirely new, and mostly unexpected productions, in those colonies."

1731.

Commercial State of Massachusetts.-The colony of Massachusetts contained, this year, 120,000 English inhabitants. Its trade employed about 600 sail of ships and sloops, of at least 38,000 tons, one-half of which traded to Europe. Its fisheries employed from 5000 to 6000 men. There were, at the same time, in New England, eight furnaces for hollow-ware, and nineteen forges.

1732. Corn and Tobacco a Legal Tender. The legislature of Maryland, this year, made tobacco a legal tender, at one penny per pound, and Indian corn at twentypence per bushel.

1733. Exports from Carolina.-There were exported this year from South Carolina, 36,584 barrels of rice, 2802 barrels of pitch, 848 barrels of turpentine, sixty tons of lignum vitæ, twenty tons of braziletto wood, twenty-seven tons of sassafras, and eight chests of skins.

1735. The Population of Massachusetts was, 138,427.

1736. Trade of the Colonies.-Maryland employed 130 sail of ships in its trade. The net product of tobacco, exported from that colony and Virginia, amounted, in value, to 210,000l., and the annual profit to the mother country, from that trade, was estimated at 500,000l. The arrivals at the port of Philadelphia, this year, were 211, and the clearances 215. The arrivals at the port of New York were 211, and the clearances 222.

1739. Scheme for Taxing the Colonies.-During the British war with Spain, a scheme for taxing the British colonies was submitted to Sir Robert Walpole. "I will leave that," said the minister, "for some of my successors, who may have more courage than I have, and be less a friend of commerce than I am. It has been a maxim with me, during my administration, to encourage the trade of the American colonies in the utmost latitude. Nay, it has been necessary to pass over some irregularities in their trade with Europe; for, by encouraging them to an extensive growing commerce, if they gain 500,000l. I am convinced that, in two years afterwards, full 250,000l. of their gains will be in his majesty's exchequer, by the labour and product of this kingdom. As immense quantities of every kind go thither, and as they increase in their foreign American trade, more of our produce will be wanted. This is taxing them more agreeably to their own constitution and ours." The British parliament, however, passed an act, this year, for more effectually securing the trade of the British to America.

1741. Massachusetts.-There were now on the stocks in this state about forty topsail vessels, of about 7000 tons. In Marblehead there were about 160 fishing schooners, of about fifty tons each.

1742. The Entries at Philadelphia, this year, were 230, and the clearances 281. 1743. The Shipping of New England, about this time, is said to have consisted of at least 1000 sail, exclusive of fishing barks. Ship-building, one of the principal branches of the trade of Boston, declined about this period.

Indigo. The culture of indigo was introduced into South Carolina, by Miss Lucas. The cultivation of this valuable plant, being considered of importance, some indigo-seed was soon after imported from the West Indies, where it had been already cultivated with success and profit. At first the seed was planted as an experiment; and it was so successful, that several planters turned their immediate attention to the culture of indigo.

1744. Trade of New Orleans.-At the port of New Orleans, in Louisiana, several vessels came from Florida, and Havanna, and the Bay of Campeachy, to trade for boards, lumber, pitch, drygoods, and live-stock, to the value of 150,000 dollars.

Trade of South Carolina.-At the port of Charleston, 230 vessels were loaded, this year, and 1500 seamen were employed in the trade of the province.

1745. Benjamin Franklin published an account of his new invented fireplaces. 1747. Tobacco. On a medium of three years, there were exported to England, from the American colonies, 40,000,000 of pounds' weight of tobacco.

1748. Bounty on Indigo. The parliament passed an act, for allowing a bounty of sixpence per pound on all indigo raised in the American plantations, and imported directly into Great Britain from the place of its growth.

Trade of Boston, Portsmouth, and Newport.-This year, 500 vessels cleared out from the port of Boston, for the foreign trade; and 430 entered inwards, exclusive of coasting and fishing vessels. The clearances from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, were 121, and the entries seventy-three, besides about 200 coasting sloops and schooners. The clearances from Newport, Rhode Island, were 118, and the entries fifty-six.

1749. Entries and Clearances at Boston, Philadelphia, and New London, this year, were as follows:-Boston, 489 entries, and 504 clearances; Newport, thirty-seven entries, and sixty-two clearances; Philadelphia, 303 entrances, and 291 clearances. 1750. The Entries at New York, were 232, and the clearances 286. cleared from Georgia, and the exports with which they were freighted, were valued at 20041. sterling.

Eight vessels

1751. Commerce of Perth Amboy.-The entries at this port, the capital of New Jersey, at that time, were forty-one, and the clearances thirty-eight. There were exported 6424 barrels of flour, 168,000 pounds of bread, and 17,941 bushels of grain, besides other commodities.

Flax-seed.-Six waggons, loaded with this article, came from the upland parts of Maryland into Baltimore.

Ginseng was found at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It grew in abundance in that township, and in the adjacent wilderness.

1753. Exports from North Carolina, this year, amounted to 60,000 barrels of tar. twelve barrels of pitch, 10,000 barrels of turpentine, and about 30,000 deerskins, besides lumber and other articles.

1754. Exports from South Carolina, were, this year, 104,682 barrels of rice, and 215 pounds of indigo, which, together with naval stores, provisions, skins, lumber, and other products, amounted to the value of 240,000l. sterling. Cotton is also mentioned as an article of export.

The Massachusetts Marine Society was incorporated by an act of the legislature. 1755. Population of the Colonies.-Maryland contained 180,000 inhabitants, Rhode Island, 35,939, and New England, 436,936.

1764. Parliament passed an act for granting certain duties in the British colonies and plantations in America. This was the first act of the British parliament that ever was passed, in which the object of raising a revenue was directly expressed. It was intituled the sugar and molasses act.

1765. Sugar Act.-The sugar act, passed in 1764, restricted the intercourse which the American colonies had enjoyed with the West Indies, and caused general discontent.

The Stamp Act.-Parliament this year passed an act for raising revenue by a general stamp duty in all the American colonies. About 250 members in the house of commons voted for it, and fifty only against it. In the house of lords it passed unanimously, without debate, and obtained the royal assent. It caused the greatest discontent in the colonies. The stamp officers resigned; vessels sailed from ports as before; and the courts of justice, though suspended a while, in most of the colonies, at length proceeded to business without stamps.

1766. The Stamp Act repealed, by a majority of 275 to 167.

Salem Marine Society instituted for the assistance of distressed mariners and their families, promoting navigation, preserving and communicating all discoveries and occurrences in the voyages of its members, and receiving plans to facilitate the navigation of the port of Salem.

1767. Duties.-Parliament passed an act, imposing a duty to be paid by the colonists,

on paper, glass, painters' colours, and teas, imported into the colonies. Also an act, establishing a custom-house and a board of commissioners in America.

1768. Non-Importation Agreement of Merchants.-In August, the merchants and traders of Boston, generally, subscribed a paper, in which they engaged not to import, nor purchase any kind of goods or merchandise, imported from Great Britain, from January, 1769, to January, 1770, excepting a few enumerated articles; nor to import, nor purchase of any, who shall import from any other colony in America, within that time, any tea, paper, glass, or other goods, commonly imported from Great Britain. The Connecticut, Salem, and New York merchants, entered into similar agreements

1769. The Legislature of Virginia, after being dissolved by the governor, met and adopted resolutions against importing British goods. This example was followed in other colonies, and the non-importation agreement became general.

Colonial Trade.-The trade of Great Britain with her colonies, on the continent of America, on an average of three years ending 1769, employed 1078 ships and 28,910 seamen. The value of goods exported from Great Britain during the average of the same years, was 3,370,000l.; and of goods exported from the colonies to Great Britain and elsewhere, 3,924,6067.

Grape Cultivated-The vine successfully cultivated at this time in Virginia.

1770. Act to Repeal Duties, except on Tea, &c.—The British merchants who traded to America sustained immense losses by the non-importation of their goods; and presented petitions to parliament, stating their losses, and praying for its intervention. On the 5th of March, Lord North proposed a bill for the repeal of part of the act of 1767, which laid a duty on glass, paper, and painters' colours, but continuing that part of the law which exacted a duty from tea. He said he brought forward that bill to prevent the continuance of the dangerous combinations which the imposts had produced in America, and the losses and dissatisfactions which they had caused among the merchants at home. He contended that the act was just as a claim, but unproductive of revenue. "The articles taxed," he said, "being chiefly British manufactures, ought to have been encouraged, instead of being burdened with assessments. The duty on tea was continued, for maintaining the parliamentary right of taxation. An impost of threepence in the pound could never be opposed by the colonists, unless they were determined to rebel against Great Britain. Besides, a duty on that article, payable in England, and amounting to nearly one shilling in the pound, was taken off on its exportation to America, so that the inhabitants of the colonies saved ninepence in the pound." He understood not the principles and feelings of the American colonists. They opposed the right of parliament to tax them far more than the tax itself. The members in opposition urged the injustice and inexpediency of taxing America, and the evils which had arisen from the attempt; but Lord North carried his bill by a large majority.

1772. The Exports from Georgia, in 217 vessels, amounted to 121,6777. sterling. 1773. Duty on Tea resisted.-The British government, determined to carry into execution the duty on tea. The warehouses of the East India Company contained about 17,000,000 lbs. of tea, for which there was no market. The East India Company were authorised by law to export their tea, free of duties, to all places whatever; by which regulation, tea would sell cheaper in America than before it had been made a subject of revenue. The new ministerial plan was considered as a direct attack on the liberties of the colonists, which it was the duty of all to oppose; and it was very generally declared that, whoever should, directly or indirectly, countenance this dangerous invasion of their rights, would be considered an enemy to his country. The East India Company freighted several ships to the colonies with tea, and appointed agents for its sale. Some cargoes were sent to New York; some to Philadelphia; some to Charleston, South Carolina; and three to Boston. The citizens of New York and Philadelphia sent the ships back to London. The inhabitants of Charleston unloaded the tea and placed it in cellars, prohibited its use, and left it to be thoroughly damaged. None of it was ever used.

Tea destroyed at Boston.-The citizens of Boston resolved to send back the tea ships. The captains of the ships had consented, if permitted, to return with their cargoes to England; but the consignees would not discharge them from their charter parties; the custom-house refused to give them a clearance; and the governor would not grant them a

To

passport for clearing the fort. It was known that the tea would be gradually landed from the ships lying so near the town; and that, if landed, it would be disposed of. prevent this, a number of armed men, disguised like Indians, boarded the ships and threw their whole cargoes of tea into the dock.

The entries at the port of Boston, this year, were 587; the clearances, 411.

1774. Boston Port Bill.—Intelligence of the destruction of the tea at Boston was communicated on the 7th of March, in a message from the throne to both houses of parliament. The conduct of the colonists was represented, as not merely obstructing the commerce of Great Britain, but as subversive of the British constitution. Without a hearing on the part of the colonists, a bill was passed, by which the port of Boston was legally precluded from the privilege of landing and discharging, or of lading and shipping goods, wares, and merchandise; and every vessel within the points of Alderton and Nahant, was required to depart within six hours, unless laden with food or fuel. This act, which shut up the harbour of Boston, was speedily followed by another, entitled "An Act for the better regulating the government of Massachusetts." The object of this act was to alter the charter of the province, so as essentially to abridge the liberties of the people. In the apprehension that, in the execution of these acts, riots would take place, and that trials for murders, committed in suppressing them, would be partially decided by the colonists, it was provided by law, that if any person were indicted for murder, or for any capital offence committed in aiding magistracy, the governor might send the person, so indicted, to another colony or to Great Britain, to be tried. These three acts were passed in immediate succession. By the first," said the colonists, "the property of unoffending thousands is arbitrarily taken away, for the act of a few individuals; by the second, our chartered liberties are annihilated; and by the third, our lives may be destroyed with impunity."

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On arriving, copies of the port bill were quickly multiplied and circulated over every colony, and excited simultaneous indignation. At Philadelphia, a subscription was set on foot for such poor inhabitants of Boston as should be deprived of the means of subsistence by the operation of the act. The Virginia House of Burgesses resolved, "that the 1st day of June, the day on which the operation of the port bill was to commence, should be set apart by the members as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine interposition, for averting the heavy calamity which threatened destruction to their civil rights and the evils of a civil war; to give them one heart and one mind, firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to the American rights." On the publication of this resolution, the royal governor, the Earl of Dunmore, dissolved them; but, previously to their separation, eighty-nine of the members signed an agreement in which they declared, "that an attack, made on one of our sister colonies, to compel submission to arbitrary taxes, is an attack made on all British America, and threatens ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the whole be applied." They also recommended to the committee of correspondence to communicate with the several committees of the other colonies, on the expediency of appointing deputies to meet annually in general congress, to deliberate on those measures which the united interest of America might from time to time require.

On the day designated by the port act business was finished at Boston at twelve o'clock at noon, and the harbour shut up against all vessels. The day was devoutly kept at Williamsburg, in Virginia, as a day of fasting and humiliation. In Philadelphia, it was solemnised with every manifestation of public grief; the inhabitants shut up their houses, and, after divine service, "a stillness reigned over the city, which exhibited the appearance of a general mourning, or of the most solemn Sabath." In most other places it was observed as a day of mourning.

1775. Bill for restraining the Commerce of New England.-Lord North moved for leave to bring in a bill to restrain the trade and commerce of the provinces of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, to Great Britain, Ireland, and the British islands in the West Indies; and to prohibit those provinces from carrying on any fishery on the banks of Newfoundland, and other places to be mentioned in the bill, under certain conditions, and for a limited time. After much opposition in both houses, the bill was carried by a large majority.

Bill for restraining the Trade of the Middle and Southern Colonies.-Soon after