328 ACCOUNT of the BRITISH AMERICA. ftained with ink, her hair uncombed, her petticoats falling off, her stockings full of holes, and her feet flip hod. She talked in fyllogifms, wrote in heroics, and married her footman. Venus, who while a goddefs, had always a hankering after mortal flesh and blood, was highly pleafed with this de- A fcent upon earth. She affumed the form of a beautiful girl of fourteen, took lodgings in Covent garden, and dealt out her favours liberally to all vifitors. Her ftaté of mortality was fo fuited to her inclinations, that heaven and the goddess were never thought of, till the lofs of her nofe made her figh for immortality. Diana was a great prude all day, but B had her Endymions by moonlight. It is reported of her that he was eleven times brought to bed, without being once able to give the leaft probable guess at the father of the child. Of Juno it is only faid, that the fcolded feven hufbands to death; and of the graces, that they were exceeding neat girls till they married, and nuts afterwards. Having ftaid the limited time upon ACCOUNT of the British Plantations in OW as to the defcription of the N country called New England, as it E F is of vaft extent, the foil and even the July globe, fo much as it does that part where we inhabit. On the other hand, the fummer is much hotter in New England than it is here; but when the wind happens to change to the north or north-west, an extreme hot day is often followed by an extreme cold night. However, the climate is agreeable enough to an English conftitution; and where the foil is good, as it is generally towards the coast, every thing may be produced that can be produced here in England; but higher up the country, efpecially towards the north-eaft, it becomes mountainous and barren, tho' even there too the mountains are intermix'd with many fruitful vallies; and where the country has not been cleared it is quite covered with woods, where there is an infinite number of timber-trees of all forts, especially oak, fir, and pine, fit for our navy, and capable of producing greater quantities of pitch, tar, rofin, and turpentine, than we can have occafion for, the importation of which we have wifely encouraged, by granting bounties upon hemp, mafts, yards, bowfprits, pitch, tar, and turpentine, imported from our plantations *. But one claufe in the fame act has been very justly found fault with, meaning, that which prohibits the cutting of any white pine trees of the diameter of 24 inches, at 20 inches from the ground, not growing within fome tract of land granted to fome private perfon, before the 7th of October 1690, without his majesty's licence; for it is faid, that this prohibition will in time prevent its being poffible to find any white pine tree proper for a mast, in any place from whence it can be conveyed whole and entire to the fea; becaufe, as the tracts of land fituated upon the banks of large rivers are generally the moft fertile and convenient, they are always the moft defirable, and confequently the first granted; and every one who has got fuch a grant fince 1690, or may hereafter get one will take care to cut down every white pine tree within his grant, under the dimenfion preferibed, and will for the future take care never to allow one to grow to that dimenfion, becaufe when it does, he knows, that he can never afterwards cut it down without a licence, and this licence he may probably be obliged to pay as much for as the tree is worth; efpecially as it is left entirely in the power of the officer employed, to determine whether he will grant fuch a licence or no: This regulation, as well as the regulation of the fame nature first e. Rablished by the charter granted to Maffachufet's bay colony in 1691, and further extended, by the first and fecond fec 备 2 Geo. II. cap. 35. ft. 2. 1756. SOIL and CLIMATE of NEW-ENGLAND. tions of this act, have been, for the reafon 329 as can get over the bar at the mouth of it, and for loops to the fi.ft fall, which is nea 60 miles up: Merimac river, which runs first fouth, then eaft, and after a courfe of 80 or 100 miles, falls into the fea in Malfachufets colony, being navigable for about 18 miles up, and cakes its name from the Indian name for a fturgeon, because it abounds in that fort of fish; but large hips cannot enter it, as it has feldom above 10 feet water upon the bar at its mouth, tho' great numbers of fmall fhips are built on it: Sagadahoc river, which, after a cou fe of above 100 miles, almoft due fouth, then turns to the northeaft, and falls n'o the Kenebec, near its B mouth. And the Kenebec river, now become famous, because the French claim all the continent to the east of this river, tho' we have long had feveral forts and fettlements to the eastward of it: This river ifes very far to the northward, fo that there is but a very short land-carriage from fome of the heads of it, to the heads of Chaudiere river, which runs into the river St. Laurence almoft over against Quebec; but as there are many falls both in Kenebec and Sagadahoc rivers, the navigation, even with canoes, is very troublefome; and the coaft about their mouth being ftrewed with an infinite number of little islands, and promontories that run far out into the fea, it is dangerous to ap This large country, call'd in general York County, as they are as yet but very The country in general is well watered, having an infinite number of fmall ftreams, befides feveral large rivers running through it. The chief of thefe are Connecticut, the heads of which are very near to, or rather intermixed with the heads of St. Francis river, which runs into the river St. Laurence, and after a very freight courfe of above 300 miles, falls into the fea in Connecticut colony, being avigable a great way up for as large ships July, 1756. As to the counties or townships into which thefe colonies are divided, and the numerous trading towns now established, we cannot fpare room for any particular account of them, therefore fhall only obferve, that the town of Bofton, the capital of Maffachufet's colony, feeins now to be the metropolis of the whole, and is by much the largeft. the richest, and most populous of any in New England, arifing chiefly from the fuperior excellence of its port and harbour, and the natural strength of its fituation, being in a peninsula at the bottom of a fine bay, full of small inlands and rocks, fo that there is but one fafe channel for entering the harbour, and that fo narrow, that three fhips can scarce fail through a breast, but then opens fo wide, that 500 fail of fhips may lye at anchor, and has fuch a depth of water, as to admit the largeft thips. At the bottom of the bay, there is a pier near 2000 feet in length, with warehouses for the merchants on the north fide of it; and hips of the Ggreatest burthen may come up clofe to it, to load or unload without the help of boats or lighters. Then, for preventing the ap proach of an enemy by tea, there is a regular fertrefs, or castle, erected upon one of the little lands in the bay, about a F league 330 BOSTON in New-ENGLAND defcribed. July However, it is fill confiderable, as appears from the custom-house books in the two collections of Maffachulets colony alone; for by the quarterly accounts at Bofton cuftom-houle it appears, that from Christmas 1747 to Christmas 1748, there were cleared out 540 veffels upon foreign voyages, and 430 entered; and by the quarterly accounts of the collection or custom-houfe at Salem it appears, that from Michaelmafs 1747 to Michaelmafs 1748, there were cleared out 131 veffels upon foreign voyages, and 96 enB tered. Befides tifhing veffels, and coafting effels from one port of New- England to another. league from the town, which inland lies upon the only fafe channel to the harbour, and the fortress has 100 guns mounted, 20 of which are level with the high water-mark, fo that no fhip can enter without being torn to pieces, and one fhip's finking, would render it almost impoffible for the next to pafs: And to pre- A vent this cafle's being ever furprifed, there is a lighthouse built upon a rock above a league further in the fea, where a guard is always kept, who, in time of danger, give notice to the caftle, by a fignal, of the number of ships approaching, which notice is by another fignal communicated from the caftle to the town, and if the thips exceed five in number, an alarum is given by fetting fire to a beacon, whereupon all the country, for feveral miles round, are obliged to take arms and repair to the town, by which means they may have, in 24 hours time, above 10,000 men in arms, all under their proper officers, and all as well difciplin'd as can ever be neceffary for fighting, tho' not perhaps well enough for gracefully performing all thofe invoJutions and evolutions that may be practifed at a review. From hence we may fee, that this town is pretty well fecured against any attack by fea, and with a very fmall expence it might be made abfolutely fecure against any attack by land; for the neck of land by which the peninfula is joined to the continent is fo low, that it is often covered by high spring tides, and confequently might be easily fortified by a rampart and fotfy with proper baftions, and as many outworks as may be thought neceffary: Nay it is almok proof against that by which the most impregnable fortress may at laft be reduced, meaning famine; for it would be next to impoffible to invest it fo as to prevent provisions being brought to it by fea; and confequently it might be fupplied with provisions as long as its friends had access to any of the neighbouring coafts of America. C From hence we may judge that the people in all the colonies of New-England are a very induftrious laborious fort of people; and yet tho' they be frugal and parfimonious, as well as induftrious and laborious, they can never keep any plenty of gold or filver in any of these colonies, which is a demonftrative proof of the vaft quantities of the manufactures of this kingdom that are confumed by them; for they fend no money to any other country they trade with, but on the contrary are gainers by their trade with every other country; confequently the whole of their balance of trade with every other part of the world, as well as the whole of the price of all the commodities they fend to this kingdom, muit be laid out in what they purchase here, or in fupporting or paying their people that live here, and the agents and factors they employ here; and if to this we add the profit our merchants reap by re-exporting the New-LngEland commodes to foreign countries; we muit conclade, that a very confidera. ble part of the wealth of this nation must proceed from, and a great number of cur people here must be fupported by, the labour and industry of our people in NewEngland. p After this hot defcription we cannot wonder at Bofton's foon becoming a very populous city, and its trade has been fo vaftly increased, that above 20 years ago it was reckoned, that about aco fail of hips were annually leaded af this port with lumber, heef, pork, fith, &c. for Europe or the American iflands; and G when we consider what a great number of other fea-port towns there are in the four colonies of New-England, we must fuppofe that their trade was then very confiderable; but as they loft a great number of their labouring men as well as their common failors in the laft war, their trade has been fince very much diminfhed. This reflection may indeed be applied to every one of our colonies in America; and yet there is a fet of people now here who grudge every expence we are put to for the fupport of our colonies, either in time of war or in time of peace: In time of peace, they cry, our colonies do not ftand in need of any fupport from us ; and in time of war, they fay, we ought to oblige our colonics to defend them. felves: It is to be hoped that fuch narrow minded politicians have at prefent no influence upon cur councils: If they have, we may cafily for etee what will be the event of the prefent war; for tho' we may by our navy prevent any great embarkation from France, we cannot prevent their fending by frequent and fmall embar 1756. LETTER from TITUS LIVIUS. embarkations very large fupplies of all [To be continued in our next.] Rifus abeft; nifi quem vifi movere dilores. OVID METAMOR. D To the AUTHOR of the LONDON SIR, A F FTER having fo fully ftated the nature of our club, and our defign in having our debates published, as I did in your Magazine for the year 1738 *, IE little thought that any gentleman, who neither is, nor ever was a member of our club, would have taken upon him to affirm, that the fpeeches published by you are known to be fictitious. As none of our members ever speak from any writ ten copy, the fpeeches are not, it is true, word for word the very fame with what was faid by the member upon the orcafion, nor have you ever given them as fuch, but only as the fubftance of what was faid by each respective member. In this light therefore no man can have the leaft pretence for faying, that you have impofed, or grofsly impofed upon your readers; nor is it poffible to say fo in any other light, as I have fo long fince as in the year 1743, declared, and by your means published, that the fpeeches I fend you are not to be imputed to any but fuch as are members of our club t. I cannot therefore comprehend how the 331 undertaker of one of our new Magazines, But as arguments are far from being like the fair fex, our new Magazine writer will, I believe, find it difficult to make naked arguments agreeable to the reader; which difficulty the gentlemen of our club were fenfible of; and this was our chief reafon for having our proceedings and d. bates published in the form they have hi therto appeared; because we thought it would be the most entertaining method of communicating the arzuments used in the difcution of every political queftion, and confequently the best method for inticing the people without doors, to do what i duty to their country as well as themfelves they are obliged to do, what by our most happy conflitution they have a right to do, and what no man, who has a true regard for focial liberty, will by any method endeavour to prevent their deing. This of giving the naked arguments in fuch a manner as to render thein agreeable to the reader, is therefore, in my opinion, a bold undertaking; but this is among the leaft of our new author's great Gundertakings; for he proposes to lay open the defigns of these nations which are confidered by the English either as frands or enemies. A nieft laudable undertaking, I confefs and an undertaking which, for the fake of my country, i with he could fully and Ttz faithfuity See Lond. Magazine for 1738, p. 237. † See the proface to Lord Magazine for 1;43. ABSTRACT of the MILITIA-BILI. 332 However, in charity I muft believe, the human breaft. poffeffion of a great and generous mind, to, June 25, Your most humble fervant, Abftra&t of the MILITIA BILL, continued July caufe new lifts to be made; and shall in Claufe 19. Enacts, that no commiffionDer of the land tax shall act in the execu tion of this act, unless poffeffed, in his own right, of lands or hereditaments of the yearly value of Icol. under the penalty of gol. to be recovered by the informer in any of his majesty's courts of record, &c. F upon his finding a fubititure to leave out Claufe 18 Enact, that the deputy-lieu- Claule 20. Enacts, that no person serv ing in the militia as an officer, fhall, during fuch fervice, be liable to ferve the office of theriff; nor fhall any private man, ferving for himself, be liable, during fuch fervitude, to do any ftatute-work, or to ferve as a peace or parish-officer, or in his majefty's land forces, unlets by his own confent, but if any perfon, not a Quaker, chofen by lot to ferve, thall refute or neglect to take the caths, or to provide a proper fubftitute, he thall forfeit rol, and at the end of three years he thall be again appointed to ferve. Chufe 21. Provides, that no perfon having ferved by himself, or fubftitute, for three years, fhall be obliged to ferve again, unul it comes to his turn by rotation. Claufe 22. Enas, that if a Quaker chofen by lot to ferve, fhall refufe or neg left to take the oths, or provide a proper fubftitute, the deputies and commiflioners fhall hire a proper fubftitute at his expence, and levy the fame by diftrefe, &r. Claufe |