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CHAP. neutrality for their iflands.-The intercourse between the

X. fexes, before marriage, is much reftrained. Hence their

Religion.

Yet

CANARIES. love is romantic, and their matches are difinterested. Marriages. they form more unhappy ones than in countries where the parties are better acquainted, previous to their union.Their ideas of religion are so narrow, that it is extremely uncomfortable for any but catholics to live among them, except in Tenerife, where there are indeed a few proteftant merchants; but the trade with proteftant countries is chiefly carried on by Irish merchants of the catholic communion. The bishop refides in Gran Canaria, and has an anInquifition. nual income of about £6000 fterling. In each island is an of fice of the inquifition who, till very lately, exercised their power, and sometimes very much abused it, independently on the civil magistrates.

Diseases.

Commerce.

But

265. The most prevalent diseases are the spotted fever, the pally, and the flatos, a windy diforder, affecting the ftomach, bowels and head. There are also a few lepers. All the Canarians are very much fubject to the itch: "The cause of which," fays Mr. Glas, p. 204, "I know not. it is certain, that people who dwell in countries remarkable for the purity of the air, are more fubject to the itch than those who live in places where the air is moist and damp."

266. The Canary Islands import from Great Britain, woollens of various kinds, hats, hard-ware, pilchards, herrings, wheat, when scarce, &c.-From Ireland, beef, pork, butter, candles and herrings. From North America, boards, staves, beef, pork, hams, rice and wheat, in times of fcarcity. From Bifcay, bar-iron.-From Holland and Hamburgh, linen of all forts, cordage, gun-powder, flax, &c.-From Malta, cotton manufactures; but from every

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other

X.

CANARIES,

tures.

other place, cottons are subject to a duty amounting to a CHA P. prohibition. The Maltese are excepted, because they maintain a perpetual war with the Turks and Moors.-The exports have been already mentioned.-The manufactures Manufacof these islands are taffeties, knit filk hofe, filk garters, quilts and bed covers.-In Gran Canaria and Tenerife, they make coarse linens and gauze of Dutch flax. White blankets and coarse cloths are fabricated in Gran Canaria, from the wool of that Island. A very coarse cloth is also made, from native wool, in the other islands. In order to encourage the filk manufacture in the Canaries, the exportation of their own raw filk is prohibited.

267. The king's revenue consists of (1) The royal third of Revenue. the church tithes. (2) The monopoly of tobacco and snuff. -(3) Annual acknowledgement of the nobility for their titles.-(4) A duty of seven per cent. on imports and exports. (5) Duty on the Weft Indian commerce of the Canaries.-The annual revenue of all the Islands, after paying the expences of collection and of the internal government, brings into the treasury of Madrid about £50,000 sterling.

268. It may be remarked that this fum exceeds the clear revenue which ever came into the treasury of Great Britain, from all her American and Weft Indian colonies, in the infinite ratio of fomething to nothing. For I do not know that Great Britain ever received any revenue from either of them, except the 4 per cent. duty on fugar, and fome other enumerated articles, granted by Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands to King Charles II. a tax which now very much oppreffes thofe poor, old colonies, while the Ceded Islands and the opulent colony of Jamaica, pay no such tax. I need not tell the intelligent reader, that all the British taxes on sugar, &c. like thofe on wine, tea and other fo

X.

CANARIES.

CHAP. reign articles, are ultimately paid by the British consumers; not to mention the monopoly-price, often exorbitant, which West Indian produce cofls them. For it is well known that fugar, &c. is generally much dearer in Great Britain than in France, or any other country in Europe, even in those that have no fugar colonies. And all this, exclufive of the enormous and endless expense of defending her colonies, by which Great Britain has incurred a very great part of her national debt.-Lord Sheffield, indeed, in his Obfervations, affirms, that the expense of defending the sugar islands, by sea alone, during the American war, cost Great Britain more than the fee fimple of those Islands is worth. The only advantage which she ever derived, from her expense of blood and treafure, was the comparatively infignificant monopoly of the trade of her colonies. But the only effect of monopolies, even when reciprocal and apparently equal, is to enrich fpeculating individuals, at the expense of the nations and colonies which fland in this unnatural and impolitic connection. Of the truth of this obfervation, the Canary islands, as well as thofe of Madeira and Cape Verd, appear to afford examples, which ought to be viewed as beacons to warn the undertakers of new colonies in Africa, of the dangers to be dreaded from what a great author calls," the mean and malignant expedients of the mercantile system.”— Read Smith's Wealth of Nations, B. IV. C. VII.

ISLE DE

FRENCH*

269. The Isle de Bourbon, called originally Mascarenha, BOURBON. after it's Portuguese discoverer, lies about 120 leagues to the

* From Geographie naturelle, &c. de M. Robert, 1777. Tableau de Commerce, 1787, and Walter's Neufte Erdkunde, &c. New Account of Afia, Africa, &c. 1785.

eaft

X.

ISLE DE

BOURBON.

east of Madagascar, in the 21st and 22d degrees of South CHA P. latitude. In circumference, it measures about 40 leagues. M. de Flacourt, Governor of Fort Dauphin and the other French fettlements in Madagascar, took poffeffion of this island, for his king, in 1654, and gave it the name of Bourbon. But his nation made no confiderable fettlement upon it till 1672. The Isle de Bourbon and the adjacent Isle de France have fince been fortified, as ftations of refreshment for the French East India fhips *.

270. The air of Bourbon is falubrious, and the foil very fertile, and well watered with fprings and small rivers, abounding with fish; so that, upon the whole, it is a charming habitation. Besides fupplying it's inhabitants and the shipping with provifions, this island exports tobacco, coffee, Exports. white pepper, aloes, ebony, filk, coral, tortoife-fhell, Benzoin and fome other gums.

271.

But of all it's productions, the most valuable is it's cotton, which of late, fince the spinning Machines, and particularly those called mules, were invented and improved; has been spun at Manchester as far as to 300 hanks, (each 840 yards) and even more, in the pound, when common Surat cotton was only brought to 20 hanks. This striking dif proportion arises chiefly from a difference in quality; but is also much owing to the Bourbon cotton being very clean, and that of Surat fo full of motes and dirt, (sometimes to half the weight) that it's ftaple is broken in the violent operations neceffary to clean it t. In fhort, I have

* Colonel Bolts, who revised this fketch of the Ifle de Bourbon, and the Ifle de France, fays that at the former there is only a road-ftead; but that the Ifle de France contains two good harbours.

This prodigious difference, as far as it depends on the firft preparation, might

Bourbon and

com. Surat

cotton compared.

be

CHAP. have known the price of Bourbon cotton as high as 9 fhil lings per pound, when that of Surat was felling at 9 pence. (See § 64.)

X.

ISLE DE
FRANCE.

Rats.

272. This island, called also the Mauritius, is considerably lefs than Bourbon. Their air and climate are very fimilar. The foil of both is equally well watered; but that of the Ifle of France is the most ftony, though by no means infertile. There is no noxious animal in either, unless we reckon rats fuch; but with them both islands are so much infefted, that the foldiers in the garrisons are sometimes turned out to hunt them*. The station for the French Indiamen

is

be avoided, if the cotton were cleaned by the producer, before the hard packing has
incorporated the dirt and motes with it. I have indeed repeatedly proposed to the
cotton merchants to fend out cleaning machines to several places, and particularly
to Surat, from whence fo much dirt is imported at fo very dear a rate, and the cot-.
ton so much injured by cleaning. But I could never get them to liften to this pro-
pofal. Indeed I have been well informed that cotton has been thoroughly cleaned
in the West Indies, by hand-picking, which though a tedious operation, was done at
about ed. a pound; but that, in England, it brought not one farthing more, than if it
had not been hand-picked. This is far from being the only inftance in which mer-
chants difcourage producers from attempting improvements. (See § 138.)

I have not mentioned health, that being a matter of little confideration among moft manufacturers. I never understood that the operations on cotton, previous to it's being shipped for Europe, are injurious to health, as they are all performed in the open air, or in sheds, and the people are not, as in Europe, conftantly confined to any one of the operations. It is, indeed, allowed that even those negroes, in the West Indies who plant, weed, gather, ginn, clean (partially, by beating it with rods, on wooden frames) and fleeve, or pack, the cotton, are generally very healthy.-It is, however, a melancholy truth, that the poor people employed in cleaning and carding cotton in Manchester, feldom live to above 30 years of age. The method of fpinning certain coarse numbers, (or forts) of cotton yarn, in damp cellars, has alfo proved to be extremely injurious to health.

* The garrifons in fome of the Weft Indian Islands might find fimilar employment. But premiums are there given for killing rats and monkies, both which are very deftructive to the fugar-canes. In Barbadoes, they give 2d. a piece for rats'

heads,

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