mend his resignation in case of his Brother's appointment, which I am satisfied woud be no ways agreable to the Court. They were much oblidged to you for accepting the trust, they have experienced the benefit of your Agency and have in their Letters fully expressed their Approbation of your Conduct, and if a Gentleman of your good sense, interest, and influence shoud resign, I shoud esteem it a great loss to the Province and such as they coud not at this Juncture of Affairs well bare. I hope therefore if you have had any such thoughts you'd lay them aside; be sure don't give the least intimation of such a thing in any of your Publick Letters; Those that propose it, in order as they pretend, to your Brother's Appointment, have something else in view. They design, as I have good reason to think, to have Mr. Jackson really the Agent. The better to cover this design, they are willing to join your Brother with him, but Mr. Jackson to all intents and purposes will be Agent. He will be considered as the first Mover and the Principal Actor in all the Government affairs and will have all the credit of every successfull measure, and your Brother will be considered only as his second and will stand just in the same relation to him as he woud to you, if he shoud be appointed Agent with you; It woud be no ways agreable to the Government to have this affair take this turn, as it woud perhaps throw them into much the same disagreable circumstances, they were in, during a former Administration, when they had an Agent strongly connected with the Governor and wholly devoted to his will and pleasure, a scituation not to be desird by any Government, which has any regard for the preservation of its rights and priviledges, as it woud give too great a weight to the Chair. I have given you these few hints and write in confidence as to a Friend and depend that no use will

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be made of what I have wrote to my prejudice. I am with Respect Your most humble Servant,

THOMAS CUSHING.

P. S. I can't learn Mr. Otis has of late received any of your favors. He suspects his Letters have been intercepted.

THOMAS CUSHING TO JASPER MAUDUIT

BOSTON, October 28th, 1763.

Duplicate. SIR, My last was of the 12th September since which have not received any of your Favors. Agreable to your Request that I wou'd at all times give you my sentiments upon all affairs relative to the Province, in which you were like to be concern'd, I now take the Liberty to write you upon a subject that very nearly affects the trade of this Province. It's relative to an Act of Parliament passed the last session Intituled an Act for the further improvement of his majesty's Revenue of Customs, etc., a Coppy of which (as printed in our papers) you have inclosed; in pursuance of which Act a Number of men of warr have been Stationed upon these Coasts, the Captains of which, as also the severall Governors upon the Continent, as we are inform'd, have strict orders rigorously to execute the Act of Parliament pass'd in the year 1733, laying a Duty upon all foreign Mollasses Rum and Sugar; this has much

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1 "The molasses act as it now stands, was undoubtedly intended to have the force of prohibition. To reduce the duty to a penny a gallon I find would be generally agreeable to the people here and the merchant would readily pay it. But do they see the consequence? Will not this be introductory to taxes, duties and excises upon other articles, and would they consist with the so much esteemed privilege of English subjects — the being taxed by their own representatives? A total prohibition, taking effect, would give a great shock to the trade of the colonies and I am surprised everybody in England does not see that it would greatly advance the price of sugars and molasses spirits there, and all to raise the fortunes of a few West India planters." Thomas Hutchinson to Richard Jackson, August, 1763. Mass. Arch., xxvI. 65.

Alarm'd us as it is Sudden and unexpected. It has given occasion to Mr. Bollan's Friends, who are always seeking occasion, to find fault and say if Mr. Bollan had been Agent this wou'd not have been, at least, they say, he wou'd Strenuously have opposed any such Act and the putting of it to any such use, and be sure woud have given the earliest Advice of it. They say the more upon this head, as Mr. Bollan has wrote the Lieut. Governor upon this affair from whom, they say, the intelligence was not so naturally to have been expected. The Rigourous execution of this Act laying a duty on molasses, etc., will be extreamly prejudicial if not altogether destructive to the trade of this and the neighbouring Governments, it demands therefore our greatest Attention and I doubt not the General Court at the next sessions will fully Instruct you upon this Head. In the mean time, it is presumed, that you (together with the other Agents of the Nothern Colonies) will exert yourself upon this occasion and when the Parliament meet endeavour to gett this Act repealed or in some way or other obtain reliefs for us under this insupportable Burden. It is not in my power to do Justice to this Subject, but if it was, it is too copious and extensive to be confin'd to the narrow Limitts of a Letter. The importance of it, the wealth, power and art of our adversaries, the west Indians, the strong inclination of the ministry to raise a Revenue out of this duty and the interest which the Province has at stake, call loudly for the greatest Care and Attention. You'll excuse me therefore if I trouble you with the mention of a few particulars; I submitt to your better Judgment whether it won't be expedient to take some steps relative to this affair previous to the meeting of the parliament: may it not be proper to have some persons on your side of the water (belonging to

some of these Nothern Colonies) who are well acquainted with our trade to the English, French and Dutch west indies in particular and with our Trade in generall, enquired of, so far as relates to this matter; Some Persons no doubt may be mett with (Capt. Sam'l Cary of Charlestown,1 who is now bound for London, will be a good and a very intelligent witness upon this occasion) who can fully prove that the price of Rum sugar and molasses in the English Islands at this time far exceeds the price formerly; that notwithstanding our trade with the foreign Colonies, the price of Fish and Lumber of all kinds, has of late been much Lower in the English Islands than formerly; and that the vessells from the Nothern Colonies are oblidged to wait a long time for molasses. These facts being established will clearly demonstrate that the Rigorous Execution of this Act is not needed in order to encourage the English west india Islands and at the same time will prove the Insufficiency of these Islands fully to supply the Nothern Colonies with the Rum Sugar and Molasses necessary for their Consumption, and that they can't take off those commodities the Nothern Colonies have to spare. Persons doubtless may be found who cou'd assertain what Quantities of Foreign molasses are annually imported into these Colonies over and above the molasses they receive from the English Islands; who cou'd clearly point out the great usefullness of this Trade (to the Foreign Colonies) to the Fisherys particularly could inform what quantities of Jamaica and Refuse Fish are annually made in this and the Neighbouring Colonies, what Quantities of these articles are annually taken off by this Foreign Trade, what numbers of Vessells are employed in the Cod Fishery and in the Whale Fishery and what their Consumption of Rum 1 Samuel Carey (1713–1769), or his son Samuel (1742-1812).

and Molasses, what Quantities of mackrell alewives and other small fish are annually caught and exported to the Foreign Colonies, what quantities of Rum and molasses are exported from these nothern Colonies to Newfoundland for the supply of the Fishery, and the Quantity of Jamaica and Refuse Fish taken in Exchange for them. The resolution of these questions woud show the Importance of the Fishery, and how much the Support of it depends upon this trade to the Foreign Colonies: the Fish we catch is divided into three sorts vizt. merchantable, Jamaica and refuse; a very large proportion of it consists of Jamaica and refuse Fish, for which there is no vent at the marketts in Europe, and our English Islands are not able to take it off. In short such Quantities of this sort of Fish are some years made, that the whole vent in the English and Foreign Colonies, that can be obtain'd, is not sufficient to consume the whole, but sometimes considerable Quantities perrish, so that in case this trade to the Foreign Colonies shou'd be prevented, as it affectually wou'd be if this high duty shou'd be rigorously exacted, the Fishery must be ruin'd, and as this togather with the Rum trade is the Support of all the rest, the whole of our trade must be distroy'd. Instead of Trading we must go to improving our Lands, raising our own Flax and wool, wearing Cloaths of our own manufacturing. For as for English goods we can send for none, as we shan't be able to make Remittances to pay for them: it will certainly reduce us to the necessity of Trading very little, living very poor, and wearing only such things as we can raise and manufacture among ourselves. This, tho' at first, very grevious and irksome, it's apprehended by some, will prove a wholesome Severity, a means of our becoming in a course of years a frugall industrious, opulent and independent people; how it may be I can't

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