observed, upwards of ninety millions. The Spanish war of 1739 was principally undertaken on their account, in which, and in the French war that was the consequence of it, Great Britain spent upwards of forty millions, a great part of which ought justly to be charged to the colonies. In those two wars the colonies cost Great Britain much more than double the sum which the national debt amounted to before the commencement of the first of them. Had it not been for those wars that debt might, and probably would by this time, have been completely paid; and had it not been for the colonies, the former of those wars might not, and the latter certainly would not have been undertaken. It was because the colonies were supposed to be provinces of the British empire that this expense was laid out upon them. But countries which contribute neither revenue nor military force towards the support of the empire cannot be considered as provinces. They may perhaps be considered as appendages, as a sort of splendid and showy equipage of the empire. But if the empire can no longer support the expense of keeping up this equipage, it ought certainly to lay it down; and if it cannot raise its revenue in proportion to its expense, it ought, at least, to accommodate its expense to its revenue. If the colonies, notwithstanding their refusal to submit to British taxes, are still to be considered as provinces of the British empire, their defence in some future war may cost Great Britain as great an expense as it ever has done in any former war. The rulers of Great Britain have, for more than a century past, amused the people with the imagination that they possessed a great empire on the west side of the Atlantic. This empire, however, has hitherto existed in imagination only. It has hitherto been, not an empire, but the project of an empire; not a gold mine, but the project of a gold mine; a project which has cost, which continues to cost, and which, if pursued in the same way as it has been hitherto, is likely to cost, immense expense, without being likely to bring any profit; for the effects of the monopoly of the colony trade, it has been shown, are, to the great body of the people, mere loss instead of profit. It is surely now time that our rulers should either realize this golden dream, in which they have been indulging themselves, perhaps, as well as the people, or that they should awake from it themselves, and endeavour to awaken the people. If the project cannot be completed, it ought to be given up. If any of the provinces of the British empire cannot be made to contribute towards the support of the whole empire, it is surely time that Great Britain should free herself from the expense of defending those provinces in time of war, and of supporting any part of their civil or military establishments in time of peace, and endeavour to accommodate her future views and designs to the real mediocrity of her circumstances.

APPENDIX

The two following accounts are subjoined in order to illustrate and confirm what is said in the fifth chapter of the fourth book, concerning the tonnage bounty to the white-herring fishery. The reader, I believe, may depend upon the accuracy of both accounts. An account of Busses fitted out in Scotland for Eleven Years, with the Number of Empty Barrels carried out, and the Number of Barrels of Herrings caught; also the Bounty at a Medium on each Barrel of Seasteeks, and on each Barrel when fully packed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Empty Barrels
Number of Barrels of Herrings Bounty paid
on
Years Busses carried out caught the Busses
------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
# s. d.
1771 29 5948 2832 2085 0 0
1772 168 41316 22237 11055 7 6
1773 190 42333 42055 12510
8 6
1774 248 59303 56365 16952 2 6
775 275 69144 52879 19315 15 0
1776 294 76329 51863 21290
7 6
1777 240 62679 43313 17592 2 6
1778 220 56390 40958 16316 2 6
1779 206 55194 29367 15287
0 0
1780 181 48315 19885 13445 12 6
1781 135 33992 16593 9613 12 6
---- ------ ------ ------ -- -
Total
2186 550943 378347 155463 11 0
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Seasteeks
378,347 Bounty at a medium for each
barrel of seasteeks
#0 8 2 1/4
But a barrel of seasteeks being
only reckoned two-thirds of a
barrel fully packed, one-third is
deducted, which brings the bounty
to #0
12 3 3/4
1/3 deducted 126,115 2/3
-------------------
Barrels fully packed 252,231 1/3
And if the herrings
are exported, there is, besides, a premium of
0 2 8
--------------
So that the bounty paid by Government in
money for each barrel is
#0 14 11 3/4
But if to this the duty of the salt usually taken credit for as
expended
in curing each barrel, which at a medium is of foreign,
one bushel and one-fourth of a bushel, at 10s.
a bushel, be
added, viz. 0 12 6
--------------
The bounty on each barrel would amount to #1 7 5 3/4
If
the herrings are cured with British salt, it will stand thus,
viz. Bounty as before #0 14 11 3/4
But if to
this bounty the duty on two bushels of Scots salt at
1s. 6d. per bushel, supposed to be the quantity at
a medium used
in curing each barrel is added, to wit 0 3 0
--------------
The bounty on each barrel will