I intended myself the honour of a little conversation with you, before you went to Congress, as to the trade of this State. We are suffering very much for want of a proper inspection of Our exports. that We now have, under the State Laws, is, as to most Articles, worse than none—it serves to conceal & encourage frauds of every kind in preparing Our exports for market.1 We surely can supplant Ireland in every open market, with Our Beef pork & Butter; & we can vie with the British in the various kinds of pickled fish, at any foreign port, where We are admitted. in every instance, where the 196 Shipper has been personally attentive to have these Articles well put up, We have had the preference, both on account of the quality & price; but, very few of Our exporters are good Judges of those Goods themselves, & fewer still can find time for such attention.— I know of no way of getting Our exports into good repute abroad, but by a strict inspection of them; & to effect this, there must be a System with a responsible man of good character & information at the head of it, in each State. let him be answerable to the Shipper who sustains any loss by having bad goods delivered him, that have passed inspection, or been branded by an inspector— let him have the power to appoint & remove persons under him, & oblige him to give large Security when he enters into office

He will then take care, that none but faithful men & such as can give him ample Security shall act under him.

Every One then will feel a responsibility; & their interest will induce them all to do their duty. the fees which are now paid to no purpose by the Trade, are nearly sufficient for the purpose. Our exports are such as call for more than common care in fitting them for market; but the attempts made by the State to regulate them have done more hurt than good. the Towns appoint such, & as many as they please, without any regard to character or qualifications; & We can hire, for the fees, the brands of many officers, or obtain their certificates for Goods which they have never seen.— Our Beef, pork, Butter, pot & pearl ashes, pickled fish of various kinds, flax Seed & Lumber, constitute a large proportion of Our exports in value, as well as in bulk; & all these articles require inspection.— This must be made a responsible & a respectable department, or nothing can be effected. Governments can not find proper men in every Seaport in this State for inspectors but a good principal residing here can; nor can the trade bear the expence & loss of time, which must attend Our having only one place of inspection. every facility shd. be given, & every expence saved to the exporter; but the regulation of exports should be such as will give safety & confidence to the Shipper, as to the quality, & tend to bring them into good repute abroad.—

I can not but consider your Revenue System as very defective, without such a responsible man at the head of a large district. every petty Collector in our out posts now feels quite independent, having no One within 300 miles that can call his conduct in question; & I am sure that ten times the amount of the Salary proper for such an Officer will this year be lost, for want of his influence care & inspection. But this defect I think will soon be remedied.— it will be 197 seen by so many, & the loss to the public will be so evident to all who attend to the Subject, that I am persuaded Comptrollers or Inspectors of districts will be appointed.— I should think that one man of ability & activity—well acquainted with Our Commerce in all its branches might be sufficient for the NE States.—

We suffer very much in this State from the unequal trade We now have with the British. They take from us in Our Vessels, even in their home ports, only such articles as they can not do without; & in their Colonies They will not admit us with any thing, on any terms. Our Oil is loaded by them with an enormous duty when in their own bottoms, & prohibited in Ours; & yet theirs is the best market We can find for the most valuable kind. We are totally deprived of the intercourse We had with their Islands, newfoundland, Canada & nova Scotia; They are not permitted to draw from Us, even in their bottoms, the Supplies They want, except in times of uncommon scarcity, or some particular Articles, which They can no where else get without great trouble & expence. But they have nearly the same advantages in Our ports, They used to enjoy. other foreigners do but little interfere with them in carrying Our exports to market; &, they as yet can vie with us, & must have a large share in that branch, the tonnage &c notwithstanding. This inequality ought not to continue, but the difficulty is how to remove it. Should We at once adopt a resentful, restrictive System, the effect may be to increase the Evil. We may lose their markets for Ashes flax Seed & white Oil &c, which would injure the trade of this State very much, without gaining any thing to balance it; for We could not much profit by their being excluded Our carrying trade, as We now pursue that branch as far as We have the means, or think it for our interest. The Government of the union has now so much the appearance of respectability & efficiency, the British may be brought, perhaps, by wise & prudent measures to view it as meriting attention, & to have some respect for its movements & decissions. I should hope more from open & calm negotiation than retaliation.— If We exclude them as Carriers, We must tempt others by high freights to carry Our produce. the nothern States alone can not for a number years carry off all the produce of America, unless the Business be made much more productive, to call our main efforts & attention that way; & this can not be done without causing a great alarm & much uneasiness in the southern States.— the NE States, & particularly this feel chiefly the weight of the British restrictions—the others never had much intercourse with nova Scotia NLand or Canada; & their 198 exports to Britain are not affected like Ours.— as the carrying Business is a great Object with the British, We may gain somewhat by negotiation, as an equivalent for their enjoying it; & in this the southern States may feel & go along with us. But if We attempt in the first instance to restrain the British, Our southern friends may get alarmed, & leave us without support; & should We succeed in drawing them into Our Views, We may both be disappointed in the effect produced upon the British.—

I feel the necessity of having a more equal & reputable trade with the British; but I am not yet satisfied that We can either compel or conciliate them to more reciprocal terms—the latter however at present is, in my mind, more eligible & promising.—

I have taken the liberty of suggesting to you in a hasty manner these loose Ideas for your consideration. if they prove of no use, nor throw any new light upon the Subject, you will excuse the manner when assured that the intention is good.—

With much respect I have the honour to be / Sir your most huml Servt—

I Congratulate you on the accession of No. Carolina to the general Government. our Antis are Thunderstruck at the News more especially as the Majority was so large.1 I have waited several Days to find out what they intend to do wheather to agree to Call a Convention, or stand out longer; in hopes that something would Turn up to 199 perplex the New-Government. They are not well agreed among themselves. But the Heads of the party lately proposed (at one of their Night meetings) that the Duties on all Goods Imported should be put verry low (say one pr Cent.) and that our Ports should be opened to all the World (or in other words that Rd Island should be the St Estatia 2 of the North).3

The Consequences of such a proceedure can be better seen into by you Sir than by me—and I have no Idea that Congress will suffer such a set of people to remain impure in the verry middle of their Teritorys.

Our Genl: Assembly meets on the second Monday of January— when we shall muster all our Forces to procure a Vote for a State Convention. if we fail ’tis proposed by the most Respectable Inhabitants of the Towns of Newport Providence Bristol &c to seperate from the State Government provided Congress will protect us, and we wish to know thro some safe medium wheather This Idea meets the approbation of Congress, or wheather some different mode will be adopted to Oblige us to submit, when 49 parts out of 50, is for the adoption, and one half of the 50th part are of the same mind

I hope and Intreat that Congress will not think of Restricting our Trade as that will but Distress the Federal Towns and will be well pleasing to our Antis. in a word we shall be happy to fall in with any measures that will be adopted by Congress for the Compleating the Union. if Congress would Answer the Letter Received from this State4 before your Adjornment and State in short the necessity that there was of Their Committing the Consideration of the Federal Governmt to the People in the way prescribed by the Grand Convention and by the old Congress and perhaps hint that it was necessary that something should be done before the first of April it might, bring some of them to consider of the necessity of Acting soon on the Business—

I fully intended to have seen you when at Boston but was prevented by Indisposition, please to present Mrs Bowens & my Comps to Mrs Adams— I Remain with the highest Esteeme Your Excellency Most Obedt. & Verry Humle Servant