THe Many and Great Advantages that England Re­ceives from the West-Indies, in Respect of the Revenue, Navigation and Trade, do Abundantly Recommend their Worth, Obliging the Go­vernment thereupon to their utmost Care, so as to ease them under those Insupportable Weights which have and doth befal them; and to the Removing those Feared Evils which they are so much possessed with the dread of; it being one great Maxim of Trade, according to its Advantage, more or less, to proportion a due Regard thereto: It is not my design to Discuss all the particular Advantages Accruing to this Nation, from the West-India Trade; yet I shall Reflect on such of them, as may ten­der their Calamities the more Affecting; The Vast Quantities of our Home Manufactories almost of all kinds, thither Exported; the Islands making frequent Visits to our Shops of all sorts almost, [Page 4] to supply their Constant and Repeated Wants; likewise how Great we are, and how much Depended upon, for their Great Produce; Holland, Hambrough, and sundry parts of Germany being abundantly Supplyed from thence; and also what great numbers of our own Subjects are employed in the Manufacturing, especially of their Sugars and Cotton: These must be allowed to be weighty Considerations, and will assuredly appear so, when we do on the other hand, reflect on the Consumptive and Dying State of these Islands, and those Unaccountable Mischiefs this Nation must share in, from the want of the aforementioned Benefits resulting from the West-India Trade; a Trade that hath been far more remarkably and dismally Wounded, than of any othet parts we Negotiate with, so as even Barbadoes hath Lost in about eight Months time, Fifty Sail of Laden Ships, besides their present Loss, of Six parts of their Fleet out of Eight; their Losses have been indeed successive, that is most evident, from great numbers of Loaden Fleets, as well as single Ships that have been frequently Lost; not only from the meer events of War, but from their being Deteined by the Go­vernment, in Sailing Outwards and Homewards; that they have not gone at a proper Season of the Year; but on the contrary, in the Fatal Winter Season to Return; then having great numbers of Privateers to be exposed to also, so as Convoys at that time have not been Secure, though most Useful in Summer Season; indeed thus Mis-Timing of our Ships, in their Outward, and consequent­ly, in their Home Voyages, is, and hath been, the chief cause of our most Melancholy Losses; besides the Mischiefs our Perishable Goods meet with from such dilatoriness, as they have been worthless on their Arrival; and the Vast Charge Owners of Ships are at, not to be omitted, besides the Ships themselves being greatly injured both here and in Barbadoes, as mightily Fouled; eaten by the Worms, and weakned by their lying long Loaden; for as they load Deep, so they ought to have the most dispatch, and the best season of the Year to move in, which they have missed of; so that here [Page 5] is the source of our Losses, that have been so stupendiously Great, so Great of Late, that some single Merchants, have lost, within the Compass of Twelve Months, nigh Thirty Thousand Pounds value in their Consignments; and so rendred uncapable to Pay the Planters Bills of Exchange, that will issue at length to their utter Ruine, both in their Credit and Estates; they being not Worth so much as they were before the War, by a Third Part.

Now for our Remedy, these following Considerations, are with submission Proposed.

1. That the Government Allow one Large Fleet of Ships for Barbadoes, so many as may bring all the Crop almost away once a Year, that they depart hence in December at furthest, Casualties excepted, they may Arrive at the time of their Crop; being Loaden, that they Sail the begining of May with a Convoy, and what Ships may drop in from Guiney, New-England, or other parts, will Load in about Six Weeks, that they Sail after the former Fleet with Convoy also, as soon as Loaden; that there be timely notice given to the Concerned, both here and in Barbadoes hereof; by this means we may on good grounds be safe in our Trade; and their so com­ing in Summer time, the Seamen will be more ready for the Go­vernments use than they have yet been, and at such times when they are most wanted.

2. That no single Ship be permitted to Sail either Outwards or Homewards, after the Departure of the said Fleets, except those belonging to the Guiney-Trade: If any Ship should drop into Barbadoes, they should not be Allowed to Load for England, after the Fleets for England are gon, but stay the opportunity of the next Fleets Motion; by this means what Sugar is left of the Crop, will be principally Loaded on these two Fleets; what Remains, to be kept till the opportunity of the next Fleet; herein the Planter will [Page 6] be greatly Accommodated, when he knows the time of the Fleets Arrival there, to have two such Fleets so dispatched; for after that the season for Planting approaches, and many times the Rains then comes in, so that their time is chiefly swallowed up on that account; whereas otherways they would be exposed to great Hurries and Fa­tigues.

If any Object, That to Disallow Ships to go alone at pleasure, is an Unreasonable Imposition on Trade; and that great Quanti­ties of Goods, either Exported or Imported, lessens their Value by Cloging the Market.

Answ. That our Losses have proceeded from single Ships, where­of scarce One in Eight have escaped, thereby strengthning the Ene­my, and weakning our Selves; besides, it must be more advanta­gious to the Planters, when their Goods comes in Fleets, though Sold Twenty per. Cent. Cheaper; the great Risque they run be­ing considered on single Ships; it must be also Allowed, that for the Preservation of the whole, particular interests ought to surrender thereto; hence is it, that our Trade to the Canaries, Virginia, the East-Countrey, and to other parts, have been so safe, while they Sailed in and out in Fleets, with a Convoy, and in a seasonable time of the Year; when as others going in single Ships, they have suffer­ed on that account, as well as the VVest-Indies.

3. That Advice-Friggots be appointed to go to and from the West-Indies, not permitted to take in any Goods; hereby the great point of Intelligence, a valuable thing, especially in time of War, would be secured, for the great benefit both of the Government and Traders; the want hereof having been so mischievous to Trade, and may endanger the Islands, as it had nigh occasioned the loss of Jamaica about a Year ago.

4. That there be a sufficient number of Ships appointed as a [Page 7] Constant standing Guard to the Islands, they staying till the Con­voy of the next Fleet arrives, which Convoy shou'd be in their post, and the Guard-ships return in their room as a Convoy to the loaden homeward bound Fleets, hereby the Islands would be preserved in their Trading one with another, which they have suffered in by small Pickaroons of the French, and even the Islands themselves secure, for how easie is it for our Enemies (unless they be so guard­ed as above expressed) with four or five of rheir Ships of War, not only to harrass the Islands as they may do Barbados, hovering round about that Island from one part to another, so allarming them that what through the heat of the Country, the dismal fatigues of their small Force from their frequent Marching from place to place; and the sweeping distemper of the Country, to be so attacqued will be of sad Consequence.

5. That our Ships be not exposed to such wonted dangers as they have been, their Men having been Impressed by our Men of War in the Islands, to such a degree that have rendred them de­fenceless and extream weak in their Voyages homewards, very of­ten on this very account issiuing in their utter loss,

To conclude, The Islands expecting and craving relief in this their suffering state, their Eyes being upon the Government, what can be done but a speedy application of such Remedies as have been pro­posed here? As these are more or less executed, such will our success in Trade be; and its great pity that these Islands so Serviceble and Beneficial to this Nation, on so many accounts, shou'd lye [...]s Languishing, and we no more apprehensive of it: To conside [...] w [...] a worth Foreigners put on their Sugar Plantations, how the Portu­guese did raise themselves from theirs, and is now the chief of their Trade; and what a value the French and Hollander put on theirs, and how much our Islands exceed them all in their produce, and capacity to be improved yet, and also and in the vast number of Ships em­ployed, [Page 8] and Seamen thereby nursed up: It must therefore be own­ed that we ought to exert our selves to the utmost for their preser­vation, and to the restoring them to their former Flourishing State; for otherwise if they continue thus bleeding in their Trade, it will issue in Death without speedy Redress, by producing an utter Ces­sation in Trade. Hence it is that those vast Sums of Money that use to move to and fro on the Ocean, are withdrawn and lodged within our selves, with little or no circulation; sufficiently evident in their readiness to subscribe to the Banks, arising not only from their forwardness to serve the Goverment, but also seek that safety in the remaining of their estates there, that they have wofully experi­enced they could not find abroad. Therefore upon the whole, as much bleeding, or no Circulation, weaknes the body Humane, so it will equally affect the body Politick in its Trade.