53G

THE NATURE AND CAUSES OE

privilege. This too was the policy of Denmark till the reignof the late king. It has occasionally been the policy ofFrance , and of late, since 1755, after it had been abandonedby all other nations, on account of its absurdity, it has be-come the policy of Portugal with regard at least to two of theprincipal provinces of Brasil, Pernambuco and Marannon.

Other nations, without establishing an exclusive company,have confined the whole commerce of their colonies to a par-ticular port of the mother country, from whence no ship wasallowed to sail, but either in a fleet and at a particular sea-son, or, if single, in consequence of a particular licence,which in most cases was very well paid for. This policyopened, indeed, the trade of the colonies to all the natives ofthe mother country, provided they traded from the properport, at the proper season, and in the proper vessels. But asall the different merchants, who joined their stocks in orderto fit out those licensed vessels, would find it for their interestto act in concert, the trade which was carried on in thismanner would necessarily be conducted very nearly upon thesame principles as that of an exclusive company. The profitof those merchants would be almost equally exorbitant andoppressive. The colonies would be ill supplied, and wouldbe obliged both to buy very dear, and to sell very cheap.This, however, till within these few years, had always beenthe policy of Spain, and the price of all European goods,accordingly, is said to have been enormous in the SpanishWest Indies. At Quito , we are told by Ulloa, a pound ofiron sold for about four and sixpence, and a pound of steel forabout six and nine-pence sterling. But it is chiefly in orderto purchase European goods, that the colonies part withtheir own produce. The more, therefore, they pay for theone, the less they really get for the other, and the dearnessof the one is the same thing with the cheapness of the other.The policy of Portugal is in this respect the same as the an-cient policy of Spain , with regard to all its colonies, exceptFernambuco and Marannon, and with regard to these it haslately adopted a slill worse.

Other nations leave the trade of their colonies free to alltheir subjects, who may carry it on from all the different portsof the mother country, and who have occasion for no otherlicence than the common despatches of the custom-house. Inthis case the number and dispersed situation of the differenttraders renders it impossible for them to enter into any ge-