March 4.
London. |
94. Col. Spotswood to the Council of Trade and Plantations. cf. 20th Feb. Abstract. Hopes he has not been too particular in displaying the discouragements, which he knows to have put a stop to the raising naval stores in Virginia. As the person who raised and imported the hemp which the Lords of the Admiralty observe to be as good as the best Riga (v. 15th Feb.), it behoved him to account for his giving over that manufacture, and losing the stock of proper seed, which he had with great industry propagated etc. Continues: From my first residence in America, I fell into the way of thinking, how the British Plantations might be made stil much more useful to their Mother-country etc., by supplying her with all kinds of naval stores, and rescuing her from precarious dependance on the Northern Crowns etc. For it was with no small concern that, in my passage to Virginia, in 1710, I observed in each of our men of war, two Muscovites walking the quarter deck, to learn our art of navigation; and understood that this privilege was allowed them for the sake of the hemp, which we were necessitated to bring from their Prince's country. Nor was it a more agreeable reflection, how in the beginning of the last war, we were forced to court the Sweed to let us have tar to fit out our Fleet. And how did our want of iron, from the same Nation, make us bear with all those injuries and insults which were committed in 1717 upon our ships in the Baltick? These considerations, together with His late Majesty's Speech to the Parliament, for promoting naval stores in our own Plantations animated me to try whether our aforesaid wants of hemp, tar and iron could not be produced in Virginia etc. May challenge the Nation to shew the man, who has embarked so extensively as himself in the undertaking, or pursued it with more zeal for his country's service etc. Continues : I not only ingaged as many of the inhabitants as I could persuade etc., to enter upon raising the said stores, but I also joyned myself, for example sake, in partnership with several persons of substance, to lead or carry on the design: and for that purpose we took up, after the usual manner of Virginia, 55,000 acres of the Crown's desart and ungranted lands; whereof one tract of 40,000 acres, having some very rich grounds, mixt with a great deale of piney lands, we appropriated to the production of hemp, tar and pitch; and the other tract of 15,000 acres having abundance of good iron oar, was set apart for the iron project. Then to seat and settle these lands, and to carry on our works, we built upwards of fourscore houses, and imported above 300 persons and particularly the hemp and tar tract we seated with 30 plantations of German tennants, consisting of above 100 people, whose charges of importation into the country we mostly defray'd, and provided them with houses, working tools, cattle, and all necessaries to make their new settlements etc., allowing them 5 years to reimburse us our bare expences on their account, without paying any interest for that time, or any rent for the first three years; and thereafter their annual rent, for the land they held of us, was to be so moderate, as one pound weight of hemp, or flax, for each acre. Besides I had, of my own separate property, a very considerable plantation, stocked with some of the best of my negroes, and managed by a skilful and long experienced Englishman; who contracted for himself and his sons to instruct in the art and mystery of raising hemp and flax, all such servants and slaves, as I should place under their direction: and as we engaged to push on the said concern wth. vigour, I spared no cost in providing all the needfull houses, machines and materials, and in procuring seed from England, Riga and other parts. But experience shewed us that no seed answered so well, as a certain wild, or accidental seed, wch. we found in the country, and which I therefore was very careful to propagate, as well as ready to supply my neighbours with. For I perceived people in Virginia were discouraged from proceeding on hemp, by the ill-success they had in raising it from the seed: some having been disapointed by being furnished from England with bad seed; others by sowing old seed (without knowing that hemp seed generally sprouts in the first spring, altho' not put in the ground; and seed once sprouted, before sown, will produce nothing), and all adventurers in general failed, by not making a due observation, how the seed and grain, of the growth of the Northern parts of Europe, ripen a month sooner in our America, and that the hemp runs too hastily to seed, before the stalk grows to any considerable length. Whether that property may not be altered by often sowing, I am not certain; but this I know, that I sowed it for two years, without any visible amendment: and that hemp, which I sent home, and proved after various tryals in Woolwich Yard to be considerably superiour to the best Russia, and equal in strength to the best Riga hemp, was made from the above-mentioned wild seed. As to the tar concern, an house built amidst the pine woods, and tar burners set to work; who made tar, which was found to be far better than what was commonly made in the low lands of Virginia and Carolina. But whether this excelling quality was owing to ours having been produced from the upland pines; or that we hapened to let our tar lye mellowing a long while in open pits without barrelling it up, with it's fiery quality for immediate exportation or sale; as is usually done; or whether the peculiar skill of our tar-burners bettered the commodity, we had not experience enough to decide: because we were obliged to put a stop to that kind of manufacture, by the Act of Parliament coming over, and prescribing a new method to be observed in the making of tar. Hereupon we considered how greatly the consumption of pine- trees would be encreased by this new method, since we were to be debarred extracting from the knots of light-wood, and decayed limbs of trees (which were always to be found plentifully scattered upon the ground throughout the pine woods) and even from whole groups, of some hundreds, of pine- trees, wch. we often behold, all on a sudden, to sicken and dye together, as if they grow from one common root; for altho' the sap and wood of those trees will rot and moulder away, yet the fat substance, of which the tar is made, never perishes or consumes by anything; but by fire: and since we were hereafter to draw our tar from no other, than live standing pines, we must destroy trees, of perhaps three score and four score foot in length, for the sake of burning only eight foot at the stump. Besides we considered that people had ever taken the liberty to gather up, and use the lightwood-knots, wch. they found upon the ungranted lands; and that even such Proprietors of land, as had no design of making tar themselves, would scarce refuse a neighbour to disencumber his ground of them: but to cut down a tree, for ye making tar, would be deemed a trespass, and not easily allowed of. Wherefore we concluded upon the expediency of enlarging our surveys of land, and two tracts, wch. then amounted to about 14,000 acres, are encreased to the above-mentioned large tract of 40,000 acres. But after a great number of pine trees had, not only by me, but by several other adventurers, been barked and managed according to the directions in the Act of Parliament, I never could hear of any one's succeeding to make tar after that new method. And at last, that I might be assured there was no neglect in those, who were to tend the kiln, I was myself there, both by night and day and was an eye wittness, that with all possible care, we did not get one barril of tar out of twenty trees; notwithstanding the remaining parts of some of those trees were so full of turpentine, that being brought to the saw-pit, the sawyers could not cut above one foot, without stopping to clean their saw. So that if the East Country tar be made after the manner prescribed in the Act (of wch. there is good reason to doubt), there must be some peculiar skill in extracting it, wch. we are ignorant of. And lastly as to the iron concern; my partners and I went roundly to work and set up the first furnace, that ever was known in North America, for casting pig and sow iron, and tho' we miscaried in our first attempt, by the failure of our hearth-stones, yet the little iron which we sent home, was so approved of, that immediately both at Bristol, and Bermingham, partnerships were formed for making and importing pigiron from America. And the iron wch. I have since imported has grown yearly more in esteem with the iron-masters in England who find it the best in the world for some certain uses, and also that they being mixed at the forge with the English, proves as tough and good as the Sweedish iron. These undertakings were so liked by many of the Virginians, that several persons sold their possessions in the lower parts of the country, and removing with their wives and children, with their servants and slaves, and with all their substance, took up larger tracts of land in these upper parts, where I was carrying on the aforementioned projects. And the Assembly for the encouragement of such adventurers, as well as for better securing the frontiers, erected those upper parts into two new counties; exempting all the inhabitants thereof from paying publick taxes for ten years etc., and petitioned the King to grant them an exemption from quit-rents etc. About a year and a half afterwards, the Assembly for the further encouragement of naval stores, passed an Act, whereby they gave a bounty (additional to that given by the British Parliament) of £4 for every tun of Virginia hemp, and of 2s. for every barril of tar, made after the new method prescribed by the Act of Parliament; and accordingly lodged in their Treasurer's hands £5200 appropriated to such uses. And they moreover addressed me, then as their Governor, to go in person to Albany, to endeavour to conclude a peace with the five Nations and other Northern Indians, who at that time were continually making inroads upon that part of the Colony where these undertakings were on foot. Thus far the under- taking appearing to be countenanced and encouraged, was carried on with spirrit and vigour; for notwithstanding I had lost by death two of my principal and most active partners, and that the rest were grown less sanguine upon the adventure, finding it was a work of more time and difficulty than they apprehended at their first setting out; yet I piquing myself upon the success of the project, took upon me the whole concern, after reimbursing my partners all their expences, wch. amounted to no less than £5000; besides what I had been in disburse for my own share. And that I pursued this project chiefly with a view to the publick good, one of my letters to your Lordships' Board may sufficiently manifest; seeing I therein proposed to make a free offer of all my possessions and improvements in Virginia, to be made use of and carried on, as the Ministry should please, for the benefit of the Navy: contenting myself with the honour of the first projection, if ever my plan should succeed to lessen the dependance of the British Nation on the Northern Crowns; and wholly relying on my Prince's favour to make any further use of my faithful services, or allow me a competent support for what I should surrender etc. v. 1st June, 1724. Continues:—I am next to display what has obstructed and discouraged the design. After I was thus deeply embarked, and while I was in ful pursuit of the adventures, I to my great surprise, found myself superseded in my Government; and my successor, soon after his arrival, calling a new Assembly, passed an act which declared the abovementioned sum of £5200 to be no longer appropriated for paying the bounty on naval stores, and applied the same to paying the Burgesses for their attendance in Assembly. He passed also another act, laying a duty of 40s. per head on imported slaves; the passage of wch. was remarkable, seeing he had all along vehemently declared against giving his assent to any such bill, and did not favour it, until he understood that I had made a contract with the Affrican Company for 400 negroes; as intending to push on my undertakings with the utmost vigour. And what was stil more remarkable, when a bill was brought in the same session, for the protection of my works (some mallicious attempts having been made upon them), he personally interposed, in a very extraordinary manner, to stop it. Moreover he without disguise took measures to draw from me all my German tenants, and openly abetted them in their not paying their rent, and in not working for me according to their agreements. These with some other unfavourable proceedings of the same stamp, were sufficient to let the country see, that the Adventurers on naval stores would not be encouraged under his Government, and so could not but give a check to the spirit, wch. I had been labouring to raise among the people, for applying part of their lands and industry that way. But when, instead of the bounty, which had been long expected from the Assembly's petition, for a remission of the rights and quit- rents in the two new erected counties, this Governor obtained (by what means or representation, I shall not venture to say) an hard restraint upon all the generous Adventurers, whereby no person was, for seven years, to be allowed to take up within these two counties, more than 1000 acres, in his own or any other name in trust for him; this new and extraordinary restriction (which was not to affect the rest of the Collony, or any other Province in North America; but was confined solely to the very spot, where the grand undertakings, for raising all manner of naval stores were on foot) did not only dishearten, but also disable the Adventurers from pursuing their design: and more especially since the Governor would divest them of even the lands wch. they had taken up and improved, before the date of the restraining order. Upon this I came to England, in 1724, to represent the case; and at my first arrival attended at your Lordship's Board, with a great number of merchants who joyned with me to satisfie your Lordships that tar could not be made in the Plantations, after the method prescribed by the Act of Parliament: and altho' in my petition to His late Majesty, for the confirmation of my lands, I particularly set forth, how my zeal for the nation's service, in promoting naval stores in the Plantations, had involved me in the difficulties, which affected my grants etc., yet your Lordships did not think anything I had alledged in my petition, or more largely urged in my case before your Board, concerning naval stores, to be material enough, to have the least notice taken thereof in your report etc., or by any manner of expression to satisfie his Majesty that I had done wel, in endeavouring to raise naval stores: so that it remains to this day a doubt, whether our endeavours of that sort shall not pass for misdeeds; and whether the Adventurers shall not loose their lands and improvements, for embarking too far in such an undertaking. These, my Lords, are the real discouragements, wch. I know to have put a stop to the progress of naval stores in Virginia; But what has been the finishing stroke to cut off our supplies of American tar, every dealer therein will readily say, is the ceasing to give a bounty therein; for they demonstrate by their accompts, that while tar bears at home so low a price, as it does at present, they cannot import it without a premium: which however the merchants, trading in that Plantation commodity, judge now may be reduced one fourth of the former bounty; provided the payment be made after the course of the Navy bills, and that the duty of 7s. 6d. pr. last at importation be also taken off etc. Continues:—I must entreat your Lordships to excuse me from concerning myself any farther about hemp and tar, after I have suffered so severely etc. But as to iron (which undertaking I still pursue with courage; because I am secure in my grant for the land, where that is carrying on) I herein humbly offer some observations and proposals etc. for encouraging the casting of that metal in America, and then importing it in pigs and sows, to be further manufactured in Great Britain etc. England is obliged to import yearly above 20,000 tons of bar-iron from foreign countries for the greatest part whereof we always pay money, and is thus dependent on the pleasure of foreign states for its supply etc. Neither is there the least prospect that we can attain to the providing ourselves from our own home produce with iron enough etc., seeing that the vast quantity of large charcoal, wch. so many additional furnaces must necessarily consume, is an expence far beyond what the woods of Great Britain and Ireland are ever likely to afford. But on the continent of North America, where it has of late years been discovered, that we have great store of rich iron ore, wood so plentifully abounds, that the new-seated inhabitants, in this age, are continually labouring to destroy the same, in order to clear the lands for tillage, or open the country for air and prospect. Timber, which the nation very much wants, will make up a great part of the ship's ladings, for no vessel loaded either entirely with iron, or intirely with timber, can bear the sea etc. As I propose that the manufacture of iron should, in the Plantations, be carried no farther than to castings; and that their pig-iron should be brought to Great Britain, to be forged into bar, or hammer-iron, my scheme does not tend to the lessning of any one furnace etc., but will supply a great many more etc., and create a large demand on our Country Gentlemen for their copse-wood as well as an additional consumption of our sea-coal etc. Proposes the taking off the present duty of 4s. per tun on such iron, and the freeing it from the charge of landing and weighing at the Custom-House keys etc. Signed, A. Spotswood. Endorsed, Recd. 5th, Read 6th March, 1727/8;. 12 pp. [C.O. 323, 8. No. 85.] |
