T is a most undoubted Maxim,that the Honour, Security andWealth of this Kingdom dependsupon the Protection, and En-couragement of Trade , and theImproving and right Managingthe Naval Strength thereof ; Andwe have Instances of several Na-

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Uect and Mismanagement,have loit theirseen their Maritime Strength entirely

ruined.

These were the Words of the most August Assem-bly of the Nation, in an Address to the Throne, uponan extraordinary Occafion ; And a Noble Member ofthat Illustrious Body, on another Occafon, as suflly ob-served ^ That our Trade is the Mother and Nurse ofour Seamen; Our Seamen the Life of our Fleet;And our Fleet the Security and Protection of ourTrade: And that both together are the Wealth,Strength, and Glory os Great Brit ait?.

The late Mr. Addison speaking of Commerce, hasthe following Golden Lines, which can not be too deep-ly imprefs'd in the Mind of every True Briton :

" Nature (fays this great Man) seems to have" taken a particular Care to disseminate her Blessings" among the different Regions of the World, with" an Eye to mutual Intercourse and Traffick amongMankind, that the Natives of the several Parts ofthe Globe might have a Kind of Dependance up-on one another, and be united together by theirCommon Interest. Almost every Degree pro-duces something peculiar to it; The Food oftengrows m one Country, and the Sauce in another,

" It we consider our Country, in it's natural" Trofpect, without any of the Benefits and Advan-tages of Commerce, what a barren uncomfortable" Spot of Earth falls to our Share. Nor has Traf-" bck more enrich’d our Vegetable World, than it- tf has improved the whole Face of Nature among" us - Our Ships are laden with the Harvest of eve-ry Climate. Our Tables are stored with Spices,Oil and Wine, &c. The Vineyards of Franceare our Gardens;The Spice-Isiands our Hot-beds;The Persians our Silk-Weavers; And the Chineseour Potters. Nature indeed furnishes us with thebare Necessaries of Life, but Traffick gives us agreat Variety of what is Useful, and, at the fameTime, supplies us with every Thing that is Conve-nient and Ornamental.

these Reasons (says Mr. Addison)sot more Useful M ------- --

Foi

are not

THERE

EMBERS IN A COM-

(t monwealth than Merchants. They knitMankind together in a mutual Intercourse ofgood Offices ; Distribute the Gifts of Nature;Find Work for the Poor ; Add Wealth to theRich, and Magnificence to the Great. Now Pri-vate Men , who, in the Times of our Ancient Kings,would have been the Vassals of some powerful Ba-" ron, negociate like Princes, for greater Sums than" were formerly to be met with in the Royal Trea-

" fury.

" Trade, without enlarging the British Terri-" tories, has given us a Kind of additional Empire.

" It has multiplied the Number of the Rich, made" our Landed Estates infinitely more valuable than" they were formerly, and added to them an Ac-" ceilion of other Rjlates, as valuable as the Lands

“ themselves.

Thf fame Reasons will hold good, with Regard tothe great Protectrice of our Trade , the Royal Navy,and the Commanders of it ; And what fronger Ar-gument can possibly be given to enforce the Maxims al-ready advanced, than our learned Countryman has herelaid down, viz. That the Prosperity and Supportof our Landed Interest is owing to, and depen-dant upon our Trade, and the Security of it, our

Navy.

These Cons derations have long fince induced me tothink, that no Part of English His ory could , or, in-deed, ought to meet with so general an Approbation, asthat which should give us a Faithful and ImpartialAccount of the several Steps, by which the Trade ofthis Nation is arrived to the Height and FlourishingState, we now fee it in ; And of the Gallant Atchiev-ments of those Brave Commanders, who have made ittheir cons ant and distnterested Endeavours to secureand proteB it, and who have render ' 1 d our Fleet sfo for-midable, throughout every Part of the known World.A cons ant Remembrance f these Things would encour-age Posterity to tread in the fame Steps, would excitethe Ambition of our Sea Commanders, who want nei-ther Courage nor Conduit, to follow the bright Exam-ples, by this Means laid before them, and would be aSpur to Adventurers to pursue their Discoveries, andendeavour to establish new Branches of Trade.

Notwithstanding all these Advantages, whichmight reasonably be expelled fromsuch a History, Iknow mt by what fatal Mistake, or blind NegleSl, noPart of English History has been so little the Care ofour ablest Writers, of Ancient as well as ModernTimes-, Tho’ > Materials need not have been wanting tothose who had the Capacity , and would have been atthe Pains of Enquiring after them.

The