Extract of a letter from one of the council of
Boston,
in
New-England, to a merchant in
London.
"Our trade is most grieviously embarrassed, by reason
of some men of war being stationed in our ports, invest-
ed with the power of custom-house officers, who seem
regardless of our interest, and so vigorously execute
their office, that no vessel hardly comes in or goes out,
but they find some pretence to seize and detain her.
One Captain has libelled a brigantine in her way to
St. Eustatia, and a ship which was cleared out here
for the
West-Indies, both which cases are
depending
in the court of admiralty ; and even should it happen
that they are cleared, yet it is a great discouragement
to the merchants to have the voyage broke up by the
long detention of a trial at law ; but should they and
all others in like circumstances, be condemned, we
have reason to fear our trade, under such severe
checks, must fall through. But what more alarms
us, is, the attack made upon our molasses trade to
Surinam and the
West-India islands, which is a
prin-
cipal support of our rum manufactory, fishery, and
lumber trade. These stopped, we cannot possibly make
our remittances to
London, and in that case, I am
satisfied,
England must sensibly feel the loss of her
colonies, as a market for her manufactories."