v*-:j& ;y^^3 '. 3 «s ] » atjp S. 1. Hill Cibrarg 3Jnrtb (Taroltna &tate CCnlUgp S215 M37 v.l This book may be kept out TWO WEEKS ONLY, and is subject to a fine of FIVE CENTS a day thereafter. It is due on the day indicated below: A / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from NCSU Libraries http://www.archive.prg/details/travelsthroughho01mars TRAVELS THROUGH HOLLAND, FLANDERS, GERMANY, DENMARK, SWEDEN, LAPLAND, RUSSIA, The U K R A I N E, AND POLAND, IN THE Years 1768, 1769, and 1770. In which is particularly Minuted, THE PRESENT STATE O F THOSE COUNTRIES, RESPECTING THEIR AGRICULTURE, POPULATION, MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE, The ARTS, and USEFUL UNDERTAKINGS. By JOSEPH MARSHALL, Efq. VOL. I. LONDON: Printed for J. Almon, oppofite Burlington Houfe^ Piccadilly. MDCCLXXII. CONTENTS of Vol. I. Travels through Holland. chap. L Pajfage from Harwich to Helvoet. From Helvoet to Rotterdam. Obfervations on the Country and Method of Travelling. De- fer iption of Rotterdam ■ page 1 1 CHAP. II. Journey from Rotterdam to the Hague. De- fer iption of that famous village. The neigh- bouring Country. Agriculture. The Peo- ple. Haerlem. To Amferdam 21 CHAP. ni. Anflerdam. Buildings. Remarkable Objefis. Inhabitants. Trade. Wealth, &c. 50 Vol. I. a CHAP. ii CONTENTS. CHAP. IV. Of the Dutch Eafl India Company 71 CHAP. V. Of the prefent State of the Dutch Commerce in Europe — ■ 103 CHAP. VI. Journey through North Holland. The Coun- try. Agriculture. People. Voyage by the Ifiands to Harlingen. Account of Frize- land. Leuwarden. Dock urn, 6, which filled me with a melan- choly I cannot yet wear off, determined me again to quit England, and feek for that _:nent in travelling, wbichmvown coun- try I found would not afford. But as I had been through the fouthern parts of Europe, . indeed, every thing has been often and well d as iuch anticipated idea would be r.: /-ioluteiy deftructive of t' novelty I fought y of diilipation ; I de- termined to ipend iome' years in journeying through the Northern Parts, which would t me with a new world; the counts I had read of moll: of them, being ei- ct.or ib old, that every thing might be altered lince the authors wrote, lo knowing too much be- .- I let OUt. With this intention I embarked for Hol- ^d, an.. me time in examining evrrv PREFACE. Hi every thing worthy of attention in all the the provinces of the Dutch republic, which I will venture to aflert, contain more that is worthy of a traveller's attention, provided he is fbmething more than two and twenty, than any part of Italy. I had the good fortune to procure fbme very valuable intelligence there, by means of letters of recommendation I car- ried with me from England. I began my tra- vels with viewing and enquiring into objects of more folidity and ufe, than I had ever thought of when abroad before ; the ftate of the Dutch trade and manufactures, the va- lue and products of their lands, &c. demanded, and had my attention. From my firft land- ing, I determined to keep a journal of every thing I faw or heard, as well for employing many idle hours, which I knew I mull have, as for the fake of retaining the information which I hoped to procure. With the fame view, I inferted a tranflation of a paper or two publimed in Holland lately, upon their trade, yet with no deiign of publishing any thing myielf. Afterwards, upon revifmg my ma- il uicript, I let them keep their place, becaufe they are fhort, and have not been tranflated before. Flanders I viiited next, and was much ftruck with the great exertions of good huf- B 2 bandry iv PREFACE. ban dry I met with ; all which I m inn ted as accurately as a perfon is able to do, who has not practiied the art. I palled through the northern part of Ger- many, and found feveral particulars, even in the dreary tracl of Weilphalia, that werein- ftrucYive. In Holfrein, I made fome obicr- vations on the management of certain lands, :h T thought deferred attention. In Denmark, I was very fortunate in meeting, accidental! v, with a nobleman, whofe great works in improving the agri- culture of an extenfive eilate, eftablifhing manufactures, bringing commerce to a port, and peop.lino- a country, ou?ht to render his name immortal ; by his means alfo, I gained recommendations to fome perfons of confe- quence at Copenhagen, and even in Sweden. I traverfed that very extenfive kingdom, and did not rind the molt mountainous provinces barren of inftruction : I have recorded many undertakings there of individuals, which do them no flight honour, and found feveral practices among the peafants, which may be of iervice even to Englifh farmers. Ruflia afforded me much greater informa- tion, reflecting the prefent liate of the reve- ues, forces, power, &c. of that great em- pire, thanl could have gained if I had not tra- PREFACE. v travelled through it. I believe the reader will find feveral circum fiances of the manner and devaluation of theTurkifh war, more parti- cularly treated here than in many other books. The Ukraine, I found a moft fertile field of excellent hufbandry ; and entirely different from the idea I had formed of a Tartar terri- tory from the books which mention that country. The diffracted ftate of Poland, allowed me no other opportunity, than to defcribe and explain its wretched fituation. My journev through the dominions of his Pruffian Majefty and the Empreis Queen, brought me much better acquainted with the ftate the laff, war left them in, and their abili- ties for engaging in another, or any other en- terprize, than I could have gained by reading any books that have been publifhed concern- in p- them, of which there are fome in Ger- many, and feveral in Holland. It is but leldom that I have afforded any pages to paintings, and never unlefs the printed accounts are very erroneous. I have not given much attention to buildings, tho' I thought it proper not entirely to overlook them, as they are in iome countries proofs of the political- ftate being in good order. 13 ut I have never omitted any opportunities of B 3 making vi PREFACE. making oblervations on the ilate of the people, in every country I pafled through ; and difcovering to what caufes their happi- nefs or their nailery were owing: as alfo on the experiments and improvements in agriculture ; on the Hate of manufactures, and the progrefs of commerce : thefe objects I thought much iuperior to others, and the more fo as they have in general been almoft entirely omitted by other travellers. There is one circumflance which it is ne- ceflary I mould explain : weights, coins, and meafures, gave me infinite trouble. In the rough minutes I took as I travelled, all the foreign terms of this fort were retained, but I found my journal abfoluteJy unintel- ligible to any body that was not extremely well veried in the proportions of this fort, be- tween different kingdoms; this induced me to go very regularly through the whole, and reduce all to Englim weight and meafure, which I effected throughout the whole jour- ney, fo that now every thing will be intel- ligible ; whereas, had I informed the reader, that in Poland wheat yields five crutks to the bufcb/ng, it would be attended with no more ufe,than if I gave the meafures of the moon. I have therefore ftruck out foreign terms of this fort, and given the proportions as near PREFACE. vu as I could poftibly calculate them, in Eng- lish. Making every where fuch numerous en- quiries into the ftate of agriculture, &c. was the occafion of my putting myfelf to the great trouble and expence of an interpreter, that I might be able to afk any queftions I wanted, and underftand the anfwers that were given me. I found this was a precaution abfolutely neceflary in an undertaking fuch as I embarked in, and which no perfon will be able to difpenfe with, that ever attempts to travel upon fuch a plan. I mail now take my leave of the reader for the prefent, with only obferving, that I have not been induced to make public this journal, by the requeft of friends, or any fuch mo- tive, and therefore I think it would be dif- ingenuous to pretend to it. Upon examining and reflecting on the plan I had laid down to myfelf, I thought a diligent execution of it would make me matter of much ufeful know- ledge, which I could not get from books ; and after I had executed it, I thought (however I may have failed in many points) that the papers might be of ufe to others as well as to myfelf, and therefore determined to make them public. B 4 I mu ft viii PREFACE. I muft requeil: the reader to penile them with candour, and remember that it is with much difficulty, and no flight labour, that I have collected them ; under which circum- ftances, I hope he will pardon thole errors and omiffions, which I had it not in my power to prevent. Travels Travels through Holland. [ " ] CHAP. I. Pajfage from Harwich to Hehoet — From Helvoet to Rotterdam — Obfervations on the Country and Method oj traveUiftg. — Defcrip- tion of Hotter dam. APRIL the 6th, 1768, I embarked on board the King George packet, at Harwich ; and, after a paflage, neither good nor bad, as the ieamen informed us, landed the 8th, in the evening, at Helvoetfluys. I had been informed that the expences were under a regulation, and did not exceed a gui- nea each peribn; but mine rofe, I fuppofe, through impofition, to three pounds eighteen millings for myfelf and fervant. When a man travels, he mould always expect to find his expences run higher than the account he receives ; luch an idea is a precaution that will prevent his falling into inconveniences; •and what is of equal importance to the agree- ablenefs of a journey, will keep him from inceflant quarrels and petty dhputes with the lower D. H HILL LIBRARY North Carolina State College 12 T R A V B L S, lower fort of t: through which he travels; from which, too many perfons have dealt; in vei iai ufe of whole nations. I was very fortunate during my panage to meet with an Englifh gentleman, who had been ieveral times in Holland ; he gave mg many cautions for c my fray in the Provinces, which I appre- hend will prove ufeful to me ; he appeared, however, rather too great an ceconomiit ; for if he is not peculiarly laving, 1 am to ex- pect nothing leis than being fleeced unmer- cifully; and if I make any refinance, am to look only for a brutal faperiorify, not only from the inferior magiftrates, but alio from every common fellow I have a difpute with : I never was full of an idea of Dutch polite- nefs, but thefe opinions, I think, cannot be very we'll founded. Helvoet has the appearance of a little dirty liming town : the cleanlinefs of the Dutch is very famous, but I have iten few marks of it there. The harbour is excellent, from i depth and fecurity ; the States g Ieveral men of war here ready for fervice : I obfervcd fix mips, five of them larffe ; 01 was of 80 guns, one of 70, three of 60, and one of 40. I made enquiries concerning their fieet TRAVELS, &c. t3 Beet in general, and was told that their High Mightineffes had powerful lquadrons elle- where. The fortifications appear to be con- iider'able. It was in the evening when I landed, fb I had my firft ipecimen at Helvoet of a Dutch Inn ; they gave me fifh- extremely well dreffed in the Englii'h manner, were civil, and though not cheap in the bill, by no means extrava- gant ; the bed was not a good one, but I did not lay my account with meeting them fo good in general in Holland as at home. I found no difficulty in being underflood in French, but when I wanted to put queitions to any people I met, my man was fbme- thing of an interpreter, having a {mattering of Dutch, which indeed was the bell part of his chara&er, and for which I hired him in London. Next morning, the 9th, I ordered a chaife to carry me to Briel, but was told there was only one in the town, and that gone another way towards Dordrecht. What other con- veyance is there ? A poft. waggon, Sir. Very good ; I will fee this waggon : Where is it ? Gone, Sir, at eight o'clock. When does it go again ? To-morrow morning at the fame hour. This was very unpleafant news, for the weather was net fairly agreeable, and the »4 T R A V E S, :j\-. th g to Brill. I . • *g ige to come by the nrfr. t nee m. From Helvoet to Bri five and t, through a country not ; _ . ;.hlv ; much of the road bad and Candy. I obferved two p I ■ :h: oxea ; the :.'.: : : th ry i mplete; they :d for bar- r which grain it I by u i p c . . - : : T I ough s , which v.\ t uld m. - one think. Bri.h £, ftands in an Voorn, thov : ■ it. It is but a poor :hh ler it in gej ry ftrong ; but the fineft is the riv is a mi] t nate through the I .:ood of this flc ;.:;;> in Hie air ail round Bri.h aud indeed the nd, is : .': fog :'■' ; md pet, I to the fragnation of it, they have planted the t . . full oft . '- ire in rows in ftreets, i I of pofts: This feems \ pretentious. I dined at the City of Am- ftftr^, which is the prii J inn ; hi ex- treme TRAVELS, tfc. 15 treme fine foals, chickens, and oyfter fauce, with feveral plates of greens ftewed, though not in greafe, and a bottle of claret ; and the bill fof myfelf and fervant came to nine flo- rins, jbr fifteen millings Englifh ; here let me obfetve, that a florin, or guilder, is twenty pence Engliih, and a iliver fomething better than a penny ; twenty {livers make one flo- rin. The inn, and the accommodation, ap- pears from a tranfitory view to be tolerable, but not equal to what I expected from the Engliih ones. My landlord was furprized I mould take Rotterdam in my way to the Hague ; allured me, that travellers ufually crofled from Briel to Maeflandfluys, and thence to Delft, and Ley den ; but as I pur- pofed taking another route fouthwards to Flanders, I lilenced Minheer with my reafon. From Bnel I took my paffage in a regular failing boat, the diftance twelve Engliih miles, which it performed in two hours and an half; T paid eight ftivers for myfelf, and as much for the fervant. This is travelling in a very cheap, and not a difagreeable manner, except the circumftance of uiing a cabbin, in common, with whatfoever company may happen to take places ; on many occafions this mult be odious. ' We pafled Maefland- fluys t6 TRAVELS, fete. fluys and Schiedam ; the banks of the Macfe do not give one any great idea of the country. At Rotterdam I arrived late in the even- ing, and fixed my quarters at the Englifh inn on Gelders^quay ; here I met with good rooms, excellent provifions, and a civil En- glifh landlord ; I informed him of my defign of ftaying fome days in the city, requeuing that I might be treated in a fair manner, pro- portioned to the money I fpent at his houfe, naming Mr. Godewynus Zaayman, a mer- chant, well known in Rotterdam, and of coniiderable wealth, to whom I had letters of recommendation; intimating, that I mould appeal to him, in caie of receiving any im- proper treatment : he replied, I mould find his houfe equal to any in England, that he had for his cuftomers the befc gentry that took the tour of Holland. I took the firft opportunity of waiting on M. Zaayman, and found him extremely friendly and polite; he prefled me much to take my quarters at his houfe, from which I excufed myfelf, on fe- veral accounts ; but I dined twice or thrice with him during my fray, and vifited him often at other hours ; he introduced me to ieveral perions, from whom I received civili- ties. M. Zaayman gave me much intel- ligence concerning the prefent flate of Hoi- nd, TRAVELS, y>. tf land, in feveral points, relative to trade and manufactures, that I had made memoran- dums to enquire after, which he did in a manner that (hewed at once his readinefs to oblige me, and his excellent and penetrating understanding;. Rotterdam is a large city, very populous, and elegantly (ituated for trade ; it is fecond to Amfterdam alone, coming nearer to that famous emporium of trade than any port' in England does to London. The Maefe here is a very noble river; and canals are cut from it through every part of the city, which are (b deep and bread, that (hips of above 30Q tons load and unload directly into the quays, and into the warehoufes on the banks. The (ides of many of the canals are planted with tall trees, which united with the maffs and flags of the (hipping, and the houles too, form a fpeclacle that Strikes one with its od- dity : I had not feen any thing like it, I was informed that this city had in every inftance but one, the advandage of Amfter- dam, mips of large burthen cannot go up to the latter, but are forced to unload. Both the Maefe and the Texel are frozen in win- ter ; but in hard feafons, the former has the ice broken much (boner, which is a great advantage in trade ; add to this, that the Vol. I. C country i8 TRAVELS, \3c. country about Rotterdam, is, as they affert, far more pleafant, the air more healthy, and the water better than at Amsterdam ; but the bank of Amsterdam, and its being the feat of commercial government, overcome? all theie fuperiorities, and gives it incomparably the greateft. trade. Nine tenths of the Britifh trade with the. United Provinces centers at this place; which is owing to the advantages of the fituation ; many mip-loads of goods, configned for Am- fterdam, are fent hither, and go by canals to that citv : two or three hundred iail of Bri- tifh veffels are fometimes in the harbour at once. There is alfo a confiderable mare of the Eafl India trade here, with very great magazines of thofe goods ; and a glafs ma- nufactory, which only works for the Eafl: India fhips : I faw in it a vafr. quantity of toys done in enamel, bowls, cups, faucers, plates, figures, &c. many of which were in a grotefque liile, and well executed ; thefe, they told me met with a ready fale in the iflands depending on the Dutch empire in that region. Several of the ftreets are very fpacious and well built. Heeren-ftreet is the fineft. The houfes are built of hewn fione ; but the Boompies is more agreeable, lying along the Made, TRAVELS, 13c. |i9 Made, the length more than half a mile : It ieems like a vaft quay, on one fide is the river full of fhips, and on the other the ftreet bounded by trees, and then by very large and well built houfes ; here the belt, company in the city refort, to walk and converfe, fome- thing in the ftile of St. James's Park, though it may be fuppofed much inferior. I had heard much of the churches in Rotterdam, but none of them are ftriking. The Ex- change is a very large, and mafly building, which gives one a good idea of the wealth of the place. This city is very famous for having given birth to Erafmus ; I was fhewed with an auk- ward kind of oftentation, the houfe in which he was born : on the Great Bridge is a tole- rable brafs ftatue of him ; he is reprefented with a flowing gown, and a cap on, and a book in his hand ; the pedeftal is of marble, inclofed with iron rails : the expreffion is not great. All forts of proviflons are very dear at this place ; even fifh, that is good, is far from cheap: The Dutch are. amazingly induftri- ous, and all the lower claries very frugal, or it would be impoffible for them to live : if the poor at Rotterdam were to fquander and drink away as much as they do in the towns C 2 Of zo TRAVEL S, «r. or' England, thief wouM ftarve ; this may ear.lv be conceived, when I inform the der, that, dun: fray here, bread was never te§ than two pence halt-pen: pound. Wine is cheaper than in England, but I ive much that is very bad ; I could not live decentlv with one :er vant at the inn for lei's than twentv florins a day, which is il. 135. j|.4. this certainly is as dear upon the whole as England. CHAP. TRAVELS, Sir. ;i CHAP. II. Journey from Rotterdam to the Hague — De- fer ipi ion of that famous village — The neigh- bouring Country — Agriculture — The People — Haerlem — To Amjlerdam. FROM Rotterdam, I took the way on the 14th, by Delft, to the Hague, in a treckfehuyt, or paffage boat : the diftance to the former of thefe places is only fix En- glim miles, for which I paid for myfelf and fervant only twelve {livers ; thefe boats are very peculiar conveyances, they go at the rate of three miles and a half an hour : the only {tops they make, are at certain little towns, from which they expect to take in frefh pafiengers. It is drawn by an horfe, and will hold about fifteen paflengers in the cabbin, or covered room, with convenience; but the mifchief is, that the mafter, or {kip- per, will crowd it with twenty, and even twenty-five, on account of the profit of the fares ; and indeed, I believe if he could pack them as clofe, he would fluff it as full as a C 3 barrel »* TRAVELS, bJ.. barrel of herrings. I have read in iome books, that pretend to give an exact account of Holland, that thefe boats are the mod agreeable travelling in the world ; but I beg to add, in relation only to cheapnefs. 1 took this paflage with two and twenty other pa£ fengers ; we are told that the paflengers may talk, knit, few, read, and do whatever they like ; which is undoubtedly true : they may perform all thefe agreeable functions, juft in the manner in which they are performed in an Englifh ftage coach, in which fix are crammed, all perhaps great, fat, or opulent wretches, that are made only to be a plague to the next on the feat. I can conceive, a ftage coach half full, and none but agreeable com- pany in it, may prove a very agreeable con- veyance ; but what are thefe boafled treck- fchuyts, when you have a dozen Dutch boors in them, who fetting at nought the clean- liness of their country, will {pit clofe at your feett whatever be your rank, and will (hew s> little idea of civility, or even humanity, as the mod drunken hackney coachman at London. But what can be expected from a convey- ance that carries one at the rate of about a penny a mile; if travelling is very cheap, very low, and vulgar people will travel. At, London, we have ftages that go five or iix miles. TRAVELS, fcfy 21 miles for a (hilling, nothing lb detefiable ; the cheapnefs induces all the blackguards who were born to ufe their feet, not coaches, to become paffengers ; and a gentleman, or any man that has two ideas, is offended at the lownefs of the company he meets in them. It appears very clearly to me,thatevery thing which is cheap, ismade or managed with a peculiar view to thole that are poor, and will in general fuit them only : It may be laid that men of education, genius, fcience,and lb forth, are often poor ; but what then ? Am I to be peftered with the company of half a fcore Dutch boors, becaufe it is probable that a man of genius may now and then honour it with his prefence. But however, to do juflice to thefe boats, I mall readily allow, that if the fare was fix-pence a mile, they would be a moil: agreeable method of travel- ling : They are well built, the cabbin a good room, with windows fo difpofed that you lee much of the country. The canals are not only deep, but from thirty to feventy feet wide ; they fet off at regular hours, and arrive at the fame. Delft is an agreeable place, I conceive it to be half as large as Norwich, in England ; the principal object in it is the manufactory of earthen ware. Mr. Geradus van Wefiel- C 4 inck 2+ t R A V ELS, fcta hick is at present the principal manufacturer t I had a letter to him, intimating that I mould be glad of fome intelligence concerning the prefent ftate of their fabrick ; he willingly obliged me in this, but as he did notfpeak French, I was obliged to get an interpreter. He told me that their porcelane employed about four thoufand people, men, women, and children ; that the manufacture was once fo flourifhing as to fupport more than (kvcn thoufand, but the fetting up a fabric of white {tone ware in England was very prejudicial to it, though not near fo much as the efta- bliihment of the Stafrbrdfhire cream-coloured ware : in this refpecl things had been fo changed, that Englifh ware riv ailed the Delft, not only in the Britifh confumption, but even in their own citv, where the fale of it had alarmed the principal manufacturers fo much, as to induce them to apply more than once to the States, for a prohibition of it : this has not yet been granted, but very high duties are already laid ; the ufe of it ftill con- tinuing, they are now attempting the fame manufacture here to rival the Englifh ; but from the fpecimens I fawof it, I do not think there is any danger of their fucceeding. Making beer is alfo a trade in which the people of Delft much employ themfelves, and TRAVEL S, fefr. 25 and it flouriihes tolerably well : there was formerly a conliderable cloth manufacture, but the letting up rivals to it in France, in Lewis XlVth's time, brought it to a very low ebb. From this place to the Hague, the diftance is but four miles ; and as the road was good, and chailes commonly palling, I preferred that conveyance to the pafTage boat. The whole country is one continued rich mea- dow. I arrived there the 16th. The Hague is a conliderable city, though called a village, from the ridiculous reafon of its not being walled. It has more of the rv.s in wbc than anyplace I have :~:en ; the flreets are broad and regular, but few of them with- out trees ; the lquares are groves ; and the numerous gardens, in union of the whole, with the iurrounding meadows, which is hardly ever broken by thole dirty receptacles of filth, and innumerable brick-kilns, and cow-yards that encompais London, render it quite country, and make it charming to thole who love theie rural doings in the midil of a city. I was recommended to the Parliament of England, as the belt inn, and one to which all perlons of any consideration reforted. I found it fully anfwerable to the character I z& TRAVELS, if:. had received : although I was moderate in ordering at meals, as well through oeconomy as a dillike at a table fully covered for a (in- gle perlbn, yet I could not come off for kis than two regular courfes, and feveral forts of excellent wine ; indeed I found it to little purpofe to be explicit in directing what I would have for meals, for I was ferved with a variety, whether I would have it or not ; the expences ran at about two guineas a day on an average ; but I entertained fome perfons of character, in confequence of letters I had procured to them. There is nofatisfaclion in travelling expeniively,efpecially in eating and drinking, further than proportioned to a man's rank and fortune ; and I had ever entertained an idea, that money was better expended in purchafmg the rarities, or other peculiar pro- ductions, as far as my purfe would allow, than fquandering large lums at inns, and on the road. It was not my deiign to make any long flay at the Hague, or I ihould have en- quired out private lodgings, and a more oeco- nomical way of living. I mention thefe cir- cumftances as a hint to other travellers, that they may confider and lay their plan of resi- dence before hand ; for my flay was longer, and confequently more cxpenlive, than I de- igned. In TRAVEL S, tf£ 2? In general, I had met with nothing but Dutch beds in Holland, that is o{ four or live feet high; a young couple, on their wed- ding night, unlets their blood is true Dutch, I fhould think would run the hazard of breaking- their necks ; In truth they are fit Only tor the nioft ibber fleepers; but on hint- ing a difiike, I was {hewn ro an apartment fitted up in the Englifh ilile. The ft reet s at the Hague are extremely well paved with clinkers, that have an appearance of bricks, and the joints fc> well made, that they admit of wafting like an houie, and the inhabitants feem to vie with each other ia this public eleanlinefs ; tliofe of each houic keep that bit clean which is before it ; this makes walking in them wonderfully agree- able. I obferved the Ipirit of this cieanneis at Rotterdam and Delft, but the pavements not being equally good, the enecls are not io viiible as here ; and here let me remark, that the extreme idea of keeping their houfes clean- of which I have fb often read uncommon ac- counts, feems rather to have declined among them. I think I have been in many houfes in England, that are kept to the full as clean as any that I have chanced to ice in liollano^ but this extends, however, ojily to the better rank- K>f the people, for among the lowcf 28 TRAVELS, tse. ones there is no comparifon between the two nations : a Dutch cottage, or the houfe of an inferior tradesman, with ever fo many chil- dren in it, is as clean as pomble; but in England, fuch are too often the refidence of filth and naftinefs. We have a female cha- racter among us, that is vulgularly called a dawdle > but fuch a character is not to be met in Holland. One circumftance which I have heard fome of my countrymen find terrible fault with, is the fuel ; a fire of wood will coft as much at the Hague, as ieven fires at London, and I faw no coal ; turf is the only firing. I have no objection to it; the ablenceof fmoak, which from fea coal is beaftly, and from wood death to ones eyes, is a great advantage ; add to this, that the moil afthmatic man will find no inconvenience to his breath from turf. But as to the ftoves, and rooms heated by floves, they appear to me extremely difagreeable •; cuflom I fuppofe would reconcile them ; but the chearful fociety of an El glim fire far exceeds thefe contrivances. This place carries a very different appear- ance from any other I had feen in Holland ; bu- finefs, and making money, is one of the only employments and pleafures you fee at Rot- terdam ; but the Hague has very little trade going TRAVELS, &c. 29 going forward; to make amends for which, here is as much good company as at any other place in Europe; all foreign minifters refide here; it is the court of the Prince of Orange, and the meetings of the States-general are never held at any other place : the number of elegant equipages is great, and the ex- penfive dreffes you fee, the number of fer- vants, the general air of luxury and pleafure, all carried a very -different appearance from any thing I had yet {een ; but notwithstand- ing its being the refidence of fo many idle people, who fpend great incomes, frill the Hague is miferably provided with public di- veriions. I went to a place they called the opera-houfe, and there met with a French comedy, wo fully acted ; it gave me a diftafte of their theatre : and this is the principal houfe of amufement, which is partly fup- ported by the fubfcriptions of foreign mini- fters. I was informed that operas are now and then performed, when lingers are to be had : concerts they have pretty often, and tolerably good ; the bell: however are at private houles. But what I loft in the public way, I gained in the more private ; on my delivering my letters to feveral perions of fome distinction, and waiting on Sir Jofeph Yorke, I was in- troduced to fome good company, that contri- ' buted 5© TRAVELS, \$Z buted greatly to make my retidence pc agreeable ; the parties I attended were, as I believe is the caie in all the great cities in Eu- rope, much more to my inclinations than any entertainment I could receive in public. The public buildings at the Hague make no figure ; the houies that form the flreets and fquares being in general much fuperior, many of thefe are great. The palace, as they call it, has feveral courts, but is a poor build- ing : that of Prince Maurice, Governor of Brazil, is not at all linking. The Voohout is the Dutch Mall, and i-s about as broad as that of St. James, but not near fo long : it was planted by the Emperor Charles V. there are three contiguous ways for coaches, and the buildings that face it make a good figure ; but what is very amazing, infread of gravel, they have made it of cockle fhells, which in treading has a vile effect. This is frrange, as gravel might be had at no dear rate from our Thames. Sand is the ge- neral fubftitute in Holland, and this alone is a great deduction from the beauty, or rather formality of their gardens. This Mall is, however, as much deferted as our Ring. The Prince Graft is a very noble ftreet, near half a mile long, of a grand breadth, and as fkuit as an arrow ; a very ipacious canal, planted TRAVELS, Uc. 31 planted on both fides, runs along the middle of it, having feveral flone bridges with iron ballufrrades over it ; the houies, eipecially one lide, make a fine appearance, and the whole, in a word, is a very great ornament to the Hague. But it is a ftrong inftance that this planting of flreets has not an effect equal to a fine range of buildings, unaccompanied with trees : a canal regularly cut through a very wide ftreet, faced with ftone, accords perfectly well with the regularity of houfes, and is a great improvement, but trees have nothing to do in the cafe. Having fpent eight days very agreeably at the Hague, I made an excuriion the 24th of April to Scheveling. a village about two miles off, on the lea coaft ; the road to it through the fand banks is curious. Here the company from the Hague come to eat nih frefh caught, and ibme to bathe. The coaftis very well worth viewing, to fee the great attention and care that is given to keep the banks in order, to defend the country from the lea. On this beach, which is very flat and regular, was ufed the famous failing chariot of Stevinus, which carried eight and twenty peribns trie aftoniihing diflance of 42 miles in two hours; and once, by an error in him that held the rudder, if we may fo call it, was very near failing 52 T R A V E. L S, fife failing with a full cargo into the lea, which was rather more than they bargained for. The great fucceis or this famous machine has, in different parts of Europe, produced many imitators ; and an hundred fch ernes for con- ducting net only coaches and chariots, but alio carts and waggons, and even plough?, "ows, and rollers, by wind : iomething ful might probably be done in it ; but found mathematicians wanting money tor fuch experiments, they ha\ 3 gone fur- ther than the clofcts of vif: onaries and dab- blers. On mv return in the afternoon, I took a walk to the Wood near the Hague, belong- ing to the Prince of Orange, which is fa- mous in Holland ; but nothing in k will in the leaft lfrike a perfon ufed to the gardens in England : in the houfe is a fine ialoon or ball-room, with a cupola in the c-ciJiag : it is richlv ornamented with very line pictures, many by Rubens, Vanderwerfe, Yarelit, Schuyr, £ce. The 2>th I employed in viiifmgRyfwick, a palace belonging to the Prince of Orange, and famous for the peace concluded there. It is the only building of free ifone in the Seven Provinces : it is ftrongly enveloped in wood, which darkens every room ; this pal- lion TRAVELS, t& 33 iion of crouding all their houfes with wood is unaccountable in the Dutch. In a hilly bleak country, where wind and plenty of air were evils, one would naturally look for this tafte, but it is prepofterous in a dead flat, in whicb the air is as apt to ftagnate as the water, and confequently the more open the better. Nothing in the palace, but a few good pictures, is worthy of obfervation. At Honflaerdyck, another palace belonging to the fame Prince, is a gallery of many very fine paintings, by the beft mailers of the Flemifh. fchool. Many of the lower rooms are richly paved with fine marble ; and there is a clofet of the Princefs's entirely wainfcotted with old japan. The 26th I left the Hague, and took the treckfchuyt for Leyden, being not more than nine miles, and paid for myihlf and iervant fourteen {livers: I Was very fortunate in com- pany, fo the mode of travelling turned out for this time very agreeable ; we were neai; three hours on the way. I took up my quar- ters at the Golden-ball, and let me here re- mark, as I have mentioned the inn, that I found the accommodation good, but dear. Leyden is a very large, and in general an handfome city, fortified, but not ftrongly. There are few canals in it, which gives it in Vol. I. D this 34 TRAVELS, &a this country a peculiar appearance ; but the water is much complained of as being bad ; the canals they have ftagnate, and the pu- trid exhalations are miichievous. -The ftreets are long, broad, and {trait, and the houfes very well built ; the Ra- penburg ftreet is a very noble one, but not, as the inhabitants affured me, the fineft in Europe. The great church is a very fine building. Nothing in the ftadthoufe is wor- thy of obfervation, but a picture of the laft judgment, by Luke of Leyden. The univer- sity here is the moft famous in Holland, and well known all over Europe for having pro- duced many very great men. I was particular in my enquiries into the ftate of the woollen manufacture here, which has long been very considerable ; the work- men confift of feveral nations, and among others, feveral French refugees : the fab rick employs feveral thoufand men and women, and fome children ; they make chiefly broad and narrow cloths, ferges, and camlets, but they are inferior to the fineft cloths of the fame kind made in England. I deiiredto be informed if this inferiority was owing to a want of fine wool, or to a want of markets ; the former is the account that has been given by nu- merous authors, that have mentioned thele fabrics : TRAVELS, &c. 35 fabrics : a very intelligent, and feemingly candid mailer manufacturer, afiured me, that they attended principally to making thofe cloths that met with the readiefl fale through Turkey and the Eafl Indies, Spain, and other countries ; that cloths equally fine with the Englifh would not fell, not from being difliked, but from their dearnefs : they have made cloths as fine as any in England, and ibid them as cheap as the Englifh, but the price, throughout all their foreign markets, regulates their manufacture. That as to wool, they got much from Spain, which anfwercd all the purpofesof fine, fome from Great Britain and Ireland ; but, added he, not fo much as the Englifh apprehend. The coarfe comes from Germany, and large quantities from Poland and Turkey. I aiked him how they came to buy fme cloths from England to export, as I well knew they did at Rotterdam, if their own were in more requeft on account of cheapnefs ? he replied, that he meant only in general ; that certain individuals, regard- lefs of price in all the regions to which their fabrics were exported, would have the very beft, but it was nothing in companion with the bulk of the demand, which was for cheap cloths ; and that they found- it fo much more advantageous to put only coarfe one? in their D 2 looms, So TRAVELS, looms, that they readily fubmitted to pur* chafe the finer forts from England. I found they all agreed very well in com- plaining of the decline of trade; they allured me that the manufactures of Ley den were, fifty vears ago, at leaft one third more con- siderable than they are at prelent, and what' is worfe, they rather decline every day. I en- quired the reafon of this declenfion ; they told me it could only be attributed to the sjeatprogrefsmadein manufactures in France, England, and Germany ; that the Englifh rivalled them more and more every day ; that the fabrics of France, in time of peace, did them much mifchief at prefent, but in the laft century were a mortal blow to the Ley- den ones ; that in Germany feveral Princes, who formerly cloathed their armies entirely with the Dutch cloth, had lately eftablifhed manufactures for fupplying themfelves. Before I quit Leyden, I mull: offer a few obfervations on the country through which I have paffed fince I left Rotterdam : all this part of Holland is in general a very rich mea- dow, fcarcely an arable field being any where feen : thefe meadows are very rich ; they are quite flat, on a loamy marl foil ; as near as I could compute, I reckon the rents of them to rife from forty millings to fix pounds TRAVEL S, ls\. 37 pounds an acre, Englifh meafure. They are principally applied to feeding cows, of the large breed, which in England is called the Dutch, and by fome the Holdernefle cattle. The peafants are remarkably attentive in the management of their cows ; they keep them houfed through a very long winter, and as clean as an Englifh gentleman would his race- horfe : they do not effect this by means of much litter; on the contrary, they ufe none at all ; but they make a trench of ftone or brick in the floor of a cow-room, fo exactly placed, that the dung may fall directly into it, which being taken regularly away, and the dirt of the reft of the houfe fwept into it, forms a good compoft ; and the laving of ftraw, where there is no arable land, is an object of capital importance. They further rub and curry their cows, fo as to keep them as clean as any horfes, which they think effential to their giving much milk; and they keep their houfes as warm as poffible, flopping every crevice till the breath of the beafts makes the whole houfe perfectly warm : this I think is a ftrange cuflom, and feems very contrary to nature ; but they carry this notion fo far as to cloath their cows in fummer, while they are in the meadows feeding ; this makes a ftrange fight. D 3 Befidcs 3? T ft A V 7t L S, Befides cows, thei; failure! are Fed by vr.fl: herds of black cattle, which art: h ht Dutch drover^ in Holf:-in and L .-_-. rkey are purchaied for about forty 01 fifty hum.. - a head, and when brought :o Holland, more than an hUnflred miles,;.;: ; Id t t3 ! itch farmers at three or four pounds a head : and it is very obierveable that tl tvs are lb rich that ibme of t icd in iix weeks, but two m a common time, and three months 1 at for the hrgefr. and worft thriving among them. The butchers buy them fat, at five, iix, eight, and nine pounds a head ; and as an Engliih acre will fatten three of them, the farmer makes from three to iix pounds an acre for only a part of the year ; but this profit is : from hence to be calculate , his taxes and his rent leave him no great matter for his own uife. Ic is auerted that the flefli of thefe oxen is not fo firm, nor their hides fo itrong, nor lb capable of making good I .as ti- er" Englim cattle ; this is owing to the luxuriance of the food, in two or three months, rather ~ _m that folid fat which iix or eight mc befc in England : it is accordingly obferved, that although fome of thefe bealts are as large :.s the Engiilh ones, yet their flclh is not lb heavy TRAVEL S, Uc. 39 heavv, Co that they will not weigh equally with Engliih beafls of the lame appearance. As the Dutch eat very little beef frelh, the greateft. part of thefe herds are lalted for the ufe of the fhippmg, the Eaft India company taking off great quantities ; or dried and lmoaked in a peculiar manner for hung beef, which they export as a rarity all over Eu- rope. As I am here fpeaking of the foil, and its produce, it will be proper to obferve, that land fells dearer in the neighbourhood of Ley- den, than in any other place in Europe, when applied only to cultivation and net to build- ing: arable land leils for 200 1. an acre; three acres have been ibid for 650 1. meadows fells at 130L an acre ; but the gardens, which are very famous, bring commonly from 250I. to 310I. pound an acre : the products they yield are highlv valued by the cormoilTeurs in eating, iniomuch that Ainfterdatn, though at nine- teen miles diftance, is principally lupplied from hence. The gardeners are very fkilful, not only in cropping their lands inceflantly, upon the plan nowpuriu:d by the belt around London, where this art is in as high perfec- tion as in any place in the world. The general fertility of the country, which for moll produces is verv great, but efpecialiy D 4" for 4<3 TRAVELS, fcfr. for grafs, is owing to the foil, and to every* meadow being well watered : from the ge- neral flatnefs of the whole, and the neigh- bourhood of the fea,with the numerous rivers, it is evidently a drained marfh or bog : being all either a fat marly loam, mud, or a turf bog ; thefe are rich foils, and with the ad- vantage of cattle having always water to re- courfe to, which the Dutch boors efteem a matter of great confequence both to fattening and milking, they perform the wonders that here are feen : much is owing therefore to fuch numbers of canals and rivers * that interfecl; the * Among the rivers, it is very weli known that the Rhine is very inconfi'Jerable. At Leyden they (hew an infignifkant canal, which is the real Rhine. The remark of a modern author, on this river, is very juft : " The glory of other rivers increafes proportionably to the length of their courfe, but this dwindles to nothing, and is ut- terly loir before it comes to the harbour. After it has been forced to divide itfelf at Fort Schencken, where one half of its waters take the name of Wahall, the YfTel robs it of another part a little above Arnheim ; frill it goes on to that city, though much weakened ; and about twenty miles from thence, is obliged to feparate again at the city ofDuerftadt. Here its principal branch takes a new rime, and is called the Leek, and the poor little {tripped rivulet turns to the right, retaining {till the old name of .Rhine, and paffes on to Utrecht, where it is divided a fourth TRAVELS, fcf* 41 meadows, and probably fomewhat to their overflowing large tracts in winter, and leav- ing, it may be prelumed, fome parallel ad- vantages to thofe which are left by the Nile. Before I quit the neighbourhood of the Hague and Ley den, which are reckoned the politeft places in ail the Provinces, and the moll: fourth time. The Vetcht breaks off that place, and takes its courfe to the north; and the little thread of water, which is yet called the Rhine, pafTes quietly to Word en. At length it comes to bid its laft farewell to Lcyden, and faintly hnifhes its courfe, by lofing the fmall remainder of its waters in two or three canals, without having the honour to enter the fea, We are not ignorant of the caufc of the Rhine's fate ; it was an earthquake, which fhook the Downs in the ninth century, and filling the mouth of this river, forced it to return and feek a new paiTage. The Leek was then fcarce worth notice, but the waters cf the Rhine, which were driven back and overflowed the country, and fwclled and deepened the Leek's channel, and the entrance of the fea has been ever fince fhut up againft the antient courfe of the Rhine. Thus this poor river, which runs fuch hazards in the Lake of Conltancej and throws itfelf down the precipice near ShafFhaufen, lofes at length its reputation and waters at the village of Catwick. 'Tis related by feveral good au- thors, that the tract of land called Zealand, was at that time divided into the feveral iflands we fee now; and that thole lands, woods, and meadows, which were between Amsterdam and the Texel, were overflowed and covered with thofe waters now remaining, and known by the name •f the Zuyder Sea.". 4- TRAVELS, &&. molt learned, both from the one being a feat of government, and the refidence of the fo- reign rhhiifters, and the univeriity of the other being the ieat of the iciences and literature, let me ofter the few remarks I have made on the characters of the people 1 have yet feen, that if there is anyeftential difference between them andtheinhabitants of Amfterdam,and the more diftant provinces, I may not confound them. There is a very great national refemblance a- mong the lower clafTes of the people ; and in- deed, among all but the higher!:, who iupport themfeives without trade, and who have tra- velled ; the latter are all more or leis French, or imitators of them ; they fpeak that language only, drefs in the French tafte (which by the way is not very natural among the marines of Holland) eat in the fame, and give them- feives fome airs, as if they pretended to the French livelinefs and vivacity : it is very evi- dent, that this clafs is compoied of iuch mon- prel animals, that we muft not take our ideas of the national character from it, bccauie they carry in their very face the marks of being but baftard Dutch. Let me remark, however, that the Hague feems full of thele Frenchified Dutchmen ; that place not being iupported bv trade, but, on the contrary, the reiidence rather of idlenefs than induitry ; nu- merous TRAVEL S, tff. :4 merous families reiide in it that have left oft bufinefs, or that live without its help, which, with the refidence of foreign Ambafl adors , may eahTv' account for the motley appearance of cha- racter which we find in that city. It is alio worth obierviug, that this character is found much at Leyden, though not near io common as at the Hague, but at Rotterdam there is a vilible difference ; this fcale mews plainly that the character and the manners of the people are much formed by their clofe adhering to, or neglecting bufinefs. At Leyden, the uni- verfity draws a great number of peribns who have no views of trade, and who, therefor^ affect the appearance and manners of the in- habitants ; but at Rotterdam, every creature is deeply engaged in commerce, and coiife- quently exhibit the true Dutch character much more to the life. A clofe unbroken indiiitry feems to be the ftrong mark that is met with in every one; no application wearies them, no accidents divert them ; they are attentive only to the railing wealth ; and it is alfoniihing to fee the num- ber of them that attain veTjjr great fortunes, and yet continue all their anxiety and eao"er- nefs to get more, without feeming to give the lead attention to enjoying more than a very moderate competency. Their confti- tutions 44 TRAVELS, tu'tions are cold and phlegmatic to an amaz- ikgree ; a ibber, dry, regular, parftm ■ of life is habitual, ant: iiion ns to lurk in their bofoms that can be t to ruffle them: This, however, can- not be attributed to the love of trade I the dim A Dutchman is as amph half the country i; water, and ir time is lpent upon the wat : the vapours from io much of it, and from a loil is ". n ft, and boggy, mud have a itro: " on the minds of the inhabitants, iltonifhing contrail: between love in Spain and Italy, a id in Holland ! Would it not be amazing to tell a Neapolitan ,]ght or men -.: if he lived in H he would regard his m cool r: (hip : But thefe chara&eriftics are not to be to the whole people, there • many exceptions ; but the more oft:. md* the more, J be t xn thofi v .:, or from who arc idle. From i . . | more univej at Rotte dam, Dei . I met 1 merchants and m - lived genteelly, and though net all in TRAVELS, £#. 4; the French ftile, yet in much eaie, plenty; and evident affluence, while they ituck as clolelv to trade as it no iiich marks of wealth were found around them. They foem to indulge in expence at the table, and in their wines ; the furniture, and fitting up of their houfes are other articles, and equipage alio. Drefs, amufement, and fervanis, do not claim their attention lb much. But the true national character, unmixed, muft be fought for among the lower clailes : here are to be found the fame coldnefs of confiitution, with no other invigo ration than comes from much ftrong beer, gin, and to- bacco, all of which they take in large quali- ties : you fee an uncommon, and even unre- mitted induftry, which is abiblutelv neeet fary to keep them, where all the neceflaries of life are at leaft one third dearer than in England : you alio find a rough booriihnels in them, much beyond what is met with elfewhere ; the very loweft of the pleople will not pay the leafr. mark of perfonaJ res- pect to the greatefr. merchant in a town : this is the effect of that equality which flows through a republic, and not mere libertv ; for they are governed here with three times the ieverity that the lower people in England are, who have therefore more liberty, but vu 46 TRAVELS, If-. yet we do Dot fij] .: this degree of boorifhne'?. The low people in Holland have been re- proached much with being paffionate, draw- ing their knives on one another, and vio- lently cruel in their infurreclions ; from the little flay I have made here, it is but juitice to fay that I have met with fcarcelv any in- flances, and I ftrongly believe, that whenever they happen, it is owing to their being too tree with gin ; for as to that choleric heat and fudden pailion met with in the iouthern parts of Europe, I have not met with one inflance ; and yet from moving quickly about to examine every thing, it is a vail mm of the people I have feen. From Lcyden to Haerlem the diflance is fifteen miles, which the boat performed in four hours. This little voyage I tcck the 2fyth, and went by recommendation to the Golden Lion ; the inns, I again repeat, ar dear as thole in England, but I do not think them comparable to ours upon the great roads. The views of the country way are not diiagreeable, though you !. a range of vait turf pits, and the Lake of Haerlem all the way on one fide ; but the other is much divcrimed with meadows, which they told mc are fee p; with black cattle. The Lake is twelve r. long TRAVELS, yr. 47 long and three broad, lying between Am- fterdam, Ley den, and Haerlem ; there is a very considerable traffic on it, fo that it is finely fpread with fails. It yields vaft quan- tities of fifti. It is aftonifhing, that little jealoufies between the three great cities near this river ihould prevent their agreeing in a work fo vaftly profitable, as draining it, and converting the whole to rich meadow ; the water is nowhere more than eight feet deep, and all of it could be conveyed away at no very large expence, and the whole fpace kept dry. The Dutch, with whom 3 converfed on this fubjecl:, agreed that the bufinefs rmght very eafily be done; but faid that Amsterdam, Ley den, and Haerlem, mull: agree in it. Haerlem, like all the other cities of Hol- land, is furrounded with a mew of fortifica- tions ; but none that would enable it to hold out three days againlf an army well pro- vided. The Greets are wide and ftrait, but the houfes have nothing to admire in them : there are many canals : the number of inha- bitants are reckoned at fifty thoufand. The principal church is a very fine itrueturc, in. it are three organs ; and they mew in the walls cannon balls now flicking, which. were fhot againft it by the Spaniards in the famous 4? TRAVEL j\. famous fiege of 1 5 7 2 . But the 0 tl moil worthy of notice in tl :e are the manufactures, and the bleacberies : - principal trade is bleaching li:. aan- tities, which are made in the Pr: . and others from Flanders, and even SUefia, are :hed at Haerlem ; whole : - ids from .land, and Ireland, are brought bithei for the fame purpofe. It is the quality f the water which has fo great an efied ; for many trials have been made in England, Scotland, and Ireland, where Dutch bleachers have been employed, without having the :. fuccefs. Let it however be remembered, t in proportion to the whiteneis of the cloth, fuch will prove the fhortneis of the wt they rot as well as bleach them : this article of nicetv mould therefore be confined to tl cloths that are defigned merely for the ufe of the rich, it is pernicious to others. The charge of freight backwards from Scotland, . that of bleaching, amounts to iod. a vard, which would be a monftrous addition to the price of anv but very fine clo: Bciidesthis branch of trade, there are feve- ral very considerable manufactories, particu- larlv the weaving of velvet, damafk?, : filk fluffs of various forts, thread, tape, Szc. in all which tl. v.ous : great 1: bers T RAVELS, fcfc 49 hers of hands are employed by them ; and they told me here, contrary to what I had learned irv the other manufacturing towns, that their fabrics had increafed for fome years, but that their bleaching trade had declined. Weavers, upon an average, earn about five florins and an half a week, which is above nine millings : I had different accounts of the number of hands employed in all the manufactures ; fome made them 30,000, others 35,000, and fome made them 43,000 ; but there are many employed by fome very Coniiderable breweries, which work for ex- portation. From Haerlem to Amfterdam is about eight or nine miles ; the boat is two hours and an half going ; half wav are feveral larpe fluices, of an ankward conftruttion, which oblige the paflengers to walk about a quarter of a mile, and change boats. The canal runs in an odd fituation between the lake of Haerlem and an arm of the fea. May lit, I entered Amfterdam, and went immediately to private lodgings, which were provided me by a correfpondent, to whom I had applied for that purpole, as it was my intention to fpend fome time in this city, for an opportunity to regard minutely whatever was mofl worthy of obfervation. Vol. I. E. CHAP. 5o TRAVELS, CHAP. III. Amflerdam — Building* — Remarkable 0 — b:>.\:: ':,r::: — Trade — Wealthy if:. A MSTERDAM appears ro no great advantage to a frxanoer on his firft comins; into it, uiileis he makes his way through the Heeregraft, or the Keyzergraft ftreets : that of Haerlem is very long, but the fluices in the canal hurt the effect of it ; the two former have alio canals in the mid- dle of them, and are very noble ftreets ; but, like moir in Holland, are planted with trees. I obierved that fome of the canals are very bread, and make a fine appearance; but the houies in general are not erected in a grand ftile ; on the contrary, very many of them ciigrace the areas before them : this, the an evil, is in all the cities of Europe, pecially in London. In fquares this great C ity appears to be very deficient ; thev are few in number, and have nothing in them strik- ing : that called the Dan: is the pried but T R A V E L $, fcf«. 51 but it is very irregular. It would he graced by the Stadthoufe, were it not for a vile old building that disfigures its noble front, and which it is a fcandal to the government to leave in itsprelent iituation. But though Amfrerdam cannot boaft of many fine fquares, like ieveral other capital cities, yet it contains fome public buildings, tli at ftrike the ipeclator with aflonifliment at the magnificence to which trade has here attained. I was very defirousof viewing the principal objects in the city to the belt ad- vantage, and was fully gratified by the mofl obliging attention of Mefl'. Sautyn and Roie- velt, who rank amongft the greateft mer- chants here, and to whom I brought letters of recommendation ; they took every method of rendering my fray agreeable, and con- dueled me to moil of the principal edifices themfclves. Their friendly politenefs I thus publicly acknowledge with the greateft plea- iure. The building, which is incomparably be- yond all others, is the Stadthoufe ; the front, as given by feveral authors, for I did not meauire it, is 282, the depth is 232, and the height is 1 16 fezt, beiides a {mall cupola ; it was begun to be raifed in 1648 ; the expence •f the edifice has been varioufly computed, E 2 with 52 T R A V ELS, tsfc. with fuch an amazing difference, as from three hundred thouiand pounds, to three millions ; ter rauft certainly be com- puted according to the different value of mo- ney then and now ; but even fo, it mult be vaitly beyond the truth : the former is in all probability much nearer the reality. The front of the building has nothing of tafte or elegance in it; it is a heavy pile, which1 itrikes the fpcctator with that idea which is raifed by the grandeur of its magnitude ; the general effect being, in ray opinion, a much greater error in the architect's tafte than the want of a luitable entrance. The inlide of the building is flniihed in a very noble ftile, confideringthe purpofe to which it is applied; fuch as a priion, a bank, the feat of the Courts of Juftice, the feffions rooms, guard rooms, &c. The floors, walls, and pillars are in general ot marble ; and many of the apartments are adorned with very fine paint- • ings by the beit of the Flemifh mailers. The carving and gilding I cannot approve ; thefe are too light and airy ornaments for the pur- pofes to which the whole edifice is applied. In the fecond ftory is a great magazine of arms ; and over that, great refervoirs of water, with tubes to conduct it into every apart- ment ; and another precaution againft fire is, the TRAVELS, t*c. 53 the chimneys being lined with copper. I went to the top of the cupola, for a view of the city and neighbouring country, which it gives tn great perfection ; commanding the whole fpace built, with the canals, and the immenfe number of mips in the harbour, al- together forming a very noble profpect. The bank of Amberdam, which is the lower apartment, is famous all over the world. The great trealure faid to be locked up in the vaults of this houfe, belonging to the hank, are the fums received in purchafe, not of bank itock, but of bank transfer. Thi^ is not like that of London, a bank that circulates notes in- return for cafh ; on the contrary it is a bank of depofit : whoever pays money here, has it entered in the bank books, but can never more demand a (hilling of it: when he wants to raife money, he offers to (ale fo much bank credit, which is transfer red in a moment, and ever ready to raile any lums upon. Here a natural queflion may be frated : What is the ufe of fuch a bank ? the excel- lence of a bank of circulation is evident at frft light; by circulating paper thev have it in their power to remedy numerous evils,which in certain iituations or affairs attend a languid circulation of coin : if money is too fcarce, fuch an inftitution may be able to make it E 3 plen- 54 TRAVEL S, lie. plentiful ; and another great utility (at leaft it has been lo efteemed in England) is that of iffuing large quantities of paper to fupply the home demand for a currency, "while the pre- cious metals are at liberty to go abroad in whatever method, or on whatever buiinefs, the merchants may rind advifable, in order to increaie their commerce and their fortunes at the fame time : but, on the contrary, a bank of depofit is not attended with any one of thefe conveniences ; circulation is much impeded by it. The circulation of a million of guilders is attended with certain advantages in the United Provinces, by animating induftry. Suppoie this million of guilders is locked up in the bank, it mav be laid, they will flill circulate in the books of the bank: true, they circulate at Amfterdam, but no where elfe. Thus the eftablilhment of a bank depofit has only the effect of fixing a vail: portion of all the trade and wealth of a country in one fpot ; of which Amfterdam, with hav- ing the worft harbour, yet poileffing the mod trade of any town in Holland, is a pregnant inftance. This local advantage of facilitating circulation atone fpot, in prejudice of all others, is lurely a partial deciiion in its favour. In a political view, it mav be pronounced dan- gerous to the ftate. A foreign enemy attack- ing TRAVELS, eV. 55 iiig a town, or a province, is an evil that can be remedied ; but what if an invader lavs iie°e to the bank r what ruin and confufion mult enfiie ? the lofs of the Stadthoufe may be prelumed the lofs of the republick. Banks of circulation are open to fome accidents, but not a twentieth part of thefe of depofit. The treafure in the bank of Amfterdam is an abfolute fecret to all but thofe who have the government of it : the value has been com- puted, or rather guefied at, from twenty to forty millions fterling ; but naming any par- ticular fijms, muft be at beft but wild work. It is, however, a very aftonifhing lyftem of accumulation, for it is a well known fact, that money once paid and entered in the bank books can never be demanded ; and it is a well known facl, that money is perpetually paid in : here, therefore, leems to be a con- ftant ingrefs but no egrefs, conlequently a treafure which feems perpetually to increafe.* E 4 The * Since the above was written, I have met with a curious account of the operations of this bank, in a late author, which well deferves quoting here. " Let me fuppofe a cafe, which may happen, to wit, that for a cer- tain time, the trade of Amfterdam may demand a larger fupply of credit in bank: than is neceilary upon an average. Will 56 T R A V E L S, lie. The Exchange is a large building, and i :;,* well adapted to the ufe ; but it is unor- namented, and not equal in architecture to that Will not this raife the agio ? No doubt. (The eg':') is the difference. between the flandard of 'money received at the bank, and that current.) If the agio rifes fo hi^h as to afford a premium upon carrying coin to the bank, upon ; of their over rs, this will augment the lum of bank ci Jit, becaufe the money fo carried to the bank becomes incorporated with the bank flock; the value is writ in the books of the hank ; and when this is done, the coin is- locked up for ever. If then it fhould happen, that the trade of Amflerdam fhoulJ afterwards diminifh, fo as to return to the ordin- ary flandard, will not this overcharge of credit deprefs the rate of bank monev, and fink the a<*io too much be- low the par of the intrinfic value of the two currencies ? To thefe difficulties I anfwer like one, who being ig- , which I could r ascertained by any perfon in Holland, to whom I had accefs for in- formation, and which remained hid from moft people in the deep arcana of Amfrerdam politics, mufr have recourse to conjectures founded upon natural fagacitv. Firll then, the ci:; c: Amflerdam knows, from lon^ te rate of demand for bank money ; and it is not to be fuppoled, that upon any fudden emergency, which may heighten that demand for a time, they iheuld be fuch novices as to increafe the credit upon the book: , fo far as to run any rifle of overftocking the marker with it ; especially on fuch occafions, as the deficiencv of bank credit might be fupplied with coin, conflantly to be found in the city of Amflerdam. Fur- TRAVELS, &c. 57 that of London : the contrivance of num- bering* the pillars, for the fake of finding a merchant Further, who will fay that there does not refide a power in the managers of this bank to iflue coin for the iuperfluous credit, in cafe that, in fpite of all precautions to prevent it, a redundancy of bank credit fhould at any time be found upon their books ? It is very true, that no perfon having credit in bank can demand coin for fuch credit ; and as no demand of that fort can ever be made, it is very natural to fuppofc, that a redundancy of coin and credit can never be pureed off. During my flay in Holland, I was at great pains to difcover, but to no purpofe, whether ever the bank ifiued any part of their credit cam upon any fuch occ^fions. Every one I converfed with was of opinion, that if ever any coin had been taken from the treafure of the bank, it muft have been by authority of the States, for national purpofes ; a ftep conducted with the greater! fecrecy, and the matter of facl I found was extremely doubtful, But this is nothing to the prefent purpofe. That the coin may be difpofed of, I allow, though I do not believe it is ; but how is the fuperfluous credit writ in the books to be difpofed of? There lies the difficulty. The popular opinion is, that coin has been taken out for the fervice of the {rate : the opinion of many intelli- gent men is quite contrary. I am now to give my opinion, not only as to this point, but upon the main queftion ; and this net from information, but from conjecture, which I (hall hum- bly fubmit to the better judgment of my reader. My 0 TRAVEL ?. ie more \ 3 " ■. '■' Lent c.e, a ". sii I [y jj ink>n then is. Firir, 1 a coin, >ries. Secondly, Thai F the bank no coin l be ir, in c ] uence of not : . . ". . . 1 1 doubt, b - - 1 1 the credit, written in the feooks rfthe bank, and : tones, vh ;h balances it, and is, ac the great : r bank money. If I can prove this, all difficult a ' My reafons For b : b _- of this opiniori an r : - - ■ that . r, even . nd for bank aer, a;:.i : -nu for coin takes place, -. . m] ang the «- . any --;;." of the net :he bank, the confequence certainly would b;- raordinary fall of bank money ; or, which i i the value of t .. when corr.: th bank money. 5 is a cafe which never happens. \ u:- ' more,. ir. The < sf trade for coin or credit are fo niK. . that fuch variations are overcharge of bank credit, douM diminilh, that overch. : be perct the TRAVELS, &T. 59 "The Admiralty is the next public edi- fice that demands attention ; the iize of it and the agio would entirely ceafe, as the balance of a fcale Nearly in equilibrio ceafes from a total overcharge oa one iide. s Second, My fecond reafoh is founded upon a matter of fuel:, which I muft now apply. There are upon the fquare, before the Town- houfe of Amfterdam (the Place de Dam) between ten and eleven En the morning, a number of cafliiers, whofe bufinefs it is to buy bank credit for current coin. They bargain with all thofe who have occafion either to buy or fell ; and according to the demand for fpecie, or bank credit, the agio rifes or finks: and as thefe cafliiers muft con- stantly gain, whether they furnifh bank credit or current coin, fince they are never the demanders in eitheir opera- tion, it is commonly found that there is in their favour about T\ per cent, or perhaps £ per cent, according t» the revolutions in the demand : that is to fay, one who would firft buy fpecie and then fell it, would lofe f or perhaps Txs upon this operation. It is a matter of fa£t, that the bank lends both coin and credit to the brokers, cafliiers, or lombards, who are conftantly found on the Place de Dam. Whenever, therefore, the bank finds that agio falls too low, with refpefl to the coin ; and when, in confe- rence of that, the demand for coin increafes, then they lend coin out of their rcpofitorics to the brokers ; and when it rifes they lend credit. This coin the bankers difpofe of to thofe who have bank credit, and who want to convert it into coin. They fell the coin for bank credit ; the purchafer writes J off 6© TRAVELS, and the environs, containing the Ar&tfal, (hips. and the docks for buildmo and riz O - DD O off the transfer in favour of the broker, and he again re- pays the value of the coin to the bank, by transferring the credit he obtained for the coin in favour of the bank. This done, the bank may expunge this credit from their books ; by which means their depofit of coin is di- minifoed, and alfo the fum of credit which was found fupernuous.. If, on the other hand, the circulation of the trade of the citv fhould in a fhort time afterwards begin to increafc, thofe who have coin, which, in that cafe, would not fo well ferve the ufes of circulation as the bank credit, come with it to the brokers, who fell them bank credit for it : this coin the brokers deliver to the bank, which writ off the credit lent to tha broker, in favour of him who has paid his coin for it. This is, as I can guefs, the nature of the circulation of the coin in the bank of Arnfterdam. Itis a curious me:;. I i roportion between the coin in depofit, the credit written in the books of transfer, and the den I ank mon From this I conclude, that the treafure of the bank of Amsterdam is not near fo great as fome autho; : . mere conjecture, hi :.-d. The author of the Eflay on Commerce reckons it four millions of guild.- the Arnfterdam edition car- ries in the margin a c. en gives us t: ftanJ, that it amounts to between eight and nine hun- dred millions. Daw:. teems it at 36 millions fter- lidg. Air. Megens, an author of great judgment and U- gacity, eiteems this treafure at no more than 60 mill of guilders, or ..rout 5,500,000 1. fierling ; a fum, he, TRAVELS, 8fc Oi (hips is very conlideiable. It confifts of three tides of a iqiiare ; the front being 220 feet Ion a, and the wings the lame; in the midft is the yard for building. The arms and ftores belonging to the mips are kept in the Arlenal, in verv great order. The ground floor is filled with cannon balls ; the fecond, contains the arms and cordage ; the third, their iaiis, pullies, flags, &c. Beiides theie, here are many curioiities of the naval kind, which are worth viewing. The dock is 508 feet long ; and contiguous to it are the lioufes for lodging the ihip carpenters, &c. The order in which every thing is kept and conducted throughout all the departments, cannot fail of linking every one. I obferved very few men of war, but there are ibme- times 50 fail and more laid up here. The following is the lateft account that has been published of the flare of the Dutch navy ; but as it was done in Holland, I know not the exact he, wherewith great things may be done. Univerfal Merchant, fed. 61. I agrc wfth him, that for the ready money demands of the trade of Amsterdam, that fum conitantly in circulation may go a °reat length." An Enquiry into the Principles of Political CEco- nomy, vol. 2, p. 299. By Sir James Stewart. 6: TRAVEL- If.. exae": dependence to :ed in it. '•" Xesr feventy men of war at Amsterdam, eight at Helvoetfiuys, eight at \ Ifli ;;, three at Terveer in Zealand, and fifteen at Hooru in North Holland, and Harlingen in FrieflarkL They have, beliefs thefe, fourteen or fifteen fail at lea on convoys ; in all. about 1 18 fail of the line, befides galleys, &c. of which more than half are in good condition and fit for fervice," — Upon this is added a note. — *■ This true account of the pre lent irate of the navv mav remove the vulgar error, that that the naval ftrength of the repuhlicis :;ow very inconfiderable. TheDutci .■ whe a people to let their navy go to ruin, or he reduced even to a low condition in times of the moll profound peace." I mace all the enquiries that were pofllble into the truth of thefe aflertions ; the paiiage itfelf is very luipiciouily worded, near 70 fail at Amfterdam, is afterwards counted for 70 ; they are called firft men of war ; after- wards they are made men of war of the line; more than half in a good condition ; is it meant half the whole, or only half the gal- leys : My intelligence has not been com- plete ; but from the belt I could gain, I ap- prehend this account to be a fiction. Many verv fenfible men, with whom I converted, mi T R A V E L S, t$c. 63 much lamented the low flate of their navy ; and faid, that the condition of their fhips was worfe than the deficiency of the number ; adding, that it would be no eafy matter to fit out, on a fudden emergency, even five and twenty fail of the line, in thorough order, and ready for fervice : one in the company obferved, however, that this neglecl of the fleet was not of fuch bad confequence as in fome other countries, becaufe the number of failors, maintained by their trade, was lo great, that nothing but money could at any time be wanting to revive their navy ; large magazines of timber could prefently be laid up, and all other requifites had in the gifeat- eft plenty ; that he mould apprehend two years notice fufficient to revive the Dutch navy in all its fplendour, provided money was not wanting. The Eaft India Houfe, and Arfenal, are great buildings, which much deferve view- ing. In the former, the company hold their meetings ; and have very considerable map-a- zines of all forts of India goods. The Ar- fenal is 2000 feet iquare every way ; it con- tains docks for building the fhips, and ware- houfes and frores for completely rigging them, all in excellent order. They have magazines of all forts of naval ft ores ; in one they have many T R A \ L S, I pa [hundred - .--.;. The two rope 18000 J : r. Thele are the princ:: f>lic b\: ia t it _' ; Jt J /.uldobf m .:.;:. - fthis - . 3 :.. : tentioii of : fiich as tht c : the hart mt, the f] , -.-. ith : - . & ; . to I I . )it :..:... 5 a vaft nun but the architecture of the edifices is nothing; it is, however, highly worthy c: .;, that all the poor of indeed of all the Provinces) are a _ed lie foundation s , :.; c te being no tax in any country r : in is -.upport the H . in which are abovr twenty thousand fouls. . :uid at all pub- public . ; . ..; in wl ublic ba- in ; "--.... in which it snt not to put feme- tis, confider ir- :. & \ . ...pt by the tres poor, the poor's : thefe . ".If; appoint certain peribns tc ugh the . / . T R A V ELS, Uc. 65 Certain feftivals, all which are applied to the lame uie : the theatres, and all public fhews and fpeclacles of whatever kind, pay a third or an half of all their gains to the lame end: theie means do not always ardwer the amount that is neceffarv, and in inch cale the go- vernment grants the remainder. In ail the towns of Holland they make excellent proviiion to force the idle to work. Thehoufeof correction is called aRaip-Houfe, in which they fhut tip the idle poor, that can work and maintain themfelves, but will not. The employment they give them, is that of lawing and raiping Brazil wood ; v\ which, if they are not expeditious, they are ieverely beaten : for offenders, particularly* the lazy, they have an admirable contrivance; it is a cellar with a pump, into which thev let water, lb proportioned to the ftrength of the perfon, that he mall be able, with infinite labour, in pumping it out, to lave himfelf from drowning ; which i:dz they are by law to fuffer, if they do not efcapc it bv this work ; for thole, whole idlenefs is carried to an in- corrigible length, this performance is ex- cellently adapted. I was informed alio, that thefe prifons are ufed for young men, whole debaucheries or fquandering diipoii- tions threaten to ruin their healths or for- Vol. I. F tunes, 65 TRAVELS, \$t. tunes, being put in here by their fathers cr other relations : I thought this very ftrange, and put feveral queftions concerning the ex- tent of the power thus aiiumed, and what ^rees of offence wrere to meet with this t> punifhment, but could get no fatisfactory account ; nor do I apprehend it is the remit of written laws, (b much as antient cuftom : women lometimes put their hufbands in for extravagance. As to churches in Amfterdam, the only one worthv of much attention is the new one, dedicated to St. Catharine ; the orna- mental parts of which are fmiihed in a moff. high manner. The pulpit is carved iiv the richeft ftile ; the chancel is parted off by a railing of Corinthian brals ; the windows are finely painted; the organ is the beft in the Low Countries, and they fay here, in the world : it has a row of pipes defigned to counterfeit a chorus of voices, but it performs it very badly ; there are fifty two whole, befides half frops, with two rows of keys for the feet, and three rows for the hands. The monuments erected to Van Ruyter and Van Galen are worth ieeing. This edifice, how- ever, is not hnifhed, though begun more than an hundred years ago ; the ileeple was de- iigned to be much higher ; more than 6000 pile* TRAVEL S, Uc. 67 piles were driven into the ground in one hun- dred feet fquare, as a foundation for it, but frill they thought the bogginefs of the ground not fufficiently remedied for fupporting fo vaft a weight as this fteeple would be if it was finiihed. The manufactures carried on in this city are more numerous and considerable, than any other place in the Seven Provinces : they weave all iorts of cloths, woollens, fluffs, and filk, gold and iilver iilks, ribbons, ta- peftry, linen in large quantities, &c. all forts of fabrics in leather, with many in ivory and metals : they have a vaft variety of mills for (awing, poliihing, &c. moit bodies. Their (ail-cloth, and paper manufactories, are very coniiderable, and the printing of books fhould not be forgotten : here are great numbers of bookfellers, who, it is thought, employ twice the piefles that work at Lon- don : thefe books are exported to England, and fome to the fouthern parts of Europe, but vail: numbers to all parts of Germany, Denmark, and the North. Amfterdam contains near three hundred thouland inhabitants. The air of this city is Co bad and foggy, that I can hardly believe the aflertions of thofc who aver it to be healthy : it is fur- rounded entirely by the fea and marines ; F 2 tlie 68 TRAVELS, life. the canals are very numerous, and not always free from noxious exhalations : the cleanli- nefs indeed of the inhabitants is carried to as great a degree as any where elie, but this by no means remedies the evil ; for that eternal warning muft add to the damps, which are otherwife fo linking in this coun- try : the wholefomeft part of their cleanli- nefs is that exerted in keeping their canals clean ; but I muft remark, that I faw no fmall neglects of this moft elTential object. Thev were formerly very attentive to have ail carriageson (ledges, and drawn by only one horfe ; this was certainly a wile precaution, confidering that the whole city is on a foun- dation purely artificial, on piles ; but this difcipline is much relaxed, for I obferved very many coaches on wheels : it is true, ley pay a conliderable tax, which, as the number of coaches increafed, has been railed once or twice, and amounts now to about {even pounds fterling a year ; but ftill as luxury increafes, coaches on wheels increafe, and the higher they are taxed, fome fenfible men here reckon, the more they would be. The public income of Amfterdam, railed by taxes, and fome public buildings, &c, amount to one million fterling, per annum : there have lately been fome conferences on the TRAVELS, Wh 69 die fubject of railing them ; and, it is faid, they WiH amount to one million two handled thoufand pounds in five years, without bur- thening the lower claries more than at pre- fent. Refpe&ing trade, this is the grand empo- rium, not only of the United Provinces, but the center of all the commerce of Europe ; for a general correfpondence it much ex- ceeds London ; but the general value and amount of London's trade much exceeds that of Amfterdam. Two thouiand fail of mips annually enter this port, which mufl: form a vaft commerce. I do not, at prefent, en- large on the ditferent branches of the great trade, becaufe, in future chapters, I fliall give an account of the trade of Holland, particu- larlv refpe&ing its preient date. I have been very fortunate in my quarters at Amfterdam, being recommended to a pri- vate family in trade for lodgings : I dined for fome day* either at an ordinary, where I paid to the amount of ten millings for my dinner, or at fome merchants houfes to whom ! was recommended, but afterwards I agreed to board with the family : they lived much better than I mould have fuppofed any peo- ple would do who let lodgings: the din- ners were excellent, and dreffed in the French p o ftilej 7o T R A V E L S, ftile ; but I paid twenty florins (at is. ScL) a week for lodgings, and 17 more for board, that is, for felt and man : this would be very dear in London ; but I could not have boai and had handlbme lodgings in London at all; this is owing; to the difference of cuftonu tween the two cities. C II A P. TRAVELS, lie. 71 C H A P. IV. Of the Dutch Eajl India Company. THE Dutch India Company, I believe, is, without exception, the moil conii- derable trading eftablifhment that ever ap- peared in the world : The conquefts of the Portuguefeinthe Indies, were atchieved under: the command and power of the crown, and* they were extended to an amazing degree ;■ but with all the regal attention, they never, equalled the dominion which the Dutch have gained under the direction of a private trading Company; in trade, their inferiority1 was greater itill, and in duration no compa- nion can be admitted. We are not to wonder at the great fuperio- rity of this Company over all others ; for fuc- ceedingto moft of thePortuguefeacquihtions, on the downfall of their power in the Eait, they laid inch a foundation of future power for themfelves, that no other Company ever had any thing like iuch aufpicious begin- nings. Add to this, it was firft inpriority, and F 4 enjoyed 7z TRAVELS, &c. enjoyed thefe noble advantages without ri- vals ; France had not dreamt of trade at all ; and England was without an Eaft India Company, or an Eaft India trade. Was a revolution to happen now in thole countries, iimilar to that of the Portuguefe power, all the trading nations of Europe, who have commerce in the Indies, would divide the ipoil between them; but in the cafe of winch we are now treating, the Dutch came in for the whole. Their acquihcions were io extenfive, and, at the lame time io very important, that the Company found it absolutely neceflary to their iecurity to keep up a very ftrong force by lea and land in the Indies ; this has given rife to the very magnificent defcriptions we have nad of the great armies, navies, and ftate of the Governor General at Batavia : Some of theie circumftances are exaggerated, but many of them appear to be very true. The number of iflands, fome of them the largeft in the world, which are in their pof- ierlion or in their power, make it neceflary that great fleets, and considerable land forces, mould be in readincfs at Batavia, and other iettlements, in order to protect and defend fuch numerous coaits and countries. But TRAVEL S, 15c 73 But notwithftanding advantages, fuperior to thofe of any other country in the Indies, this Company has been long on the decline ; this has been principally owing to the eflablifh- ment of lb many others ; the Engliih have robbed them more than any other country ; France from 1720 to 1740 had a Company that nourifhed lb greatly, as to prevent all importation from Holland, except fpices ; and even exported much to. Spain, Germany, and Italy. Denmark and Sweden, have be- tween them fupplied their refpective inhabi- tants ; fo that the Dutch Company has not the benefit of the markets which fhe once totally fupplied ; this muft, in the nature of things, make a wonderful alteration in its ■ affairs. But there are other realons for this declenlion, which are touched upon with fome other very curious particulars, in an account of the prefent frate of their trade, given in by one of the Governors General ; but as the paper never appeared in the En- gliiri language, I lhall take fome extracts from it, which will make the reader acquainted with (everal particulars that deierve. atten- tion. 44 Without contradiction, the Eafr. India Company ot Holland is not in lo flouriihing a ftale as it was formerly ; we may for this infhnce -4 TRAVELS, 5fr. infta'nce feveral direct and indirect caulesr ch may be reduced to three principal' ones. Firft, the too great extent of t pofleffions in the Indies, which renders the administration lefs ealy and more iubject to jnconveniencies. Secondly, to the ex- ceffive abundance of the productions of the Eaft, and confequently the diminution of their price in Europe. Laltly, the relaxation of zeal and attention in the part of thole employed by the Company, for want of pro- perly recompensing the merit of Come, and punifhing the mifdenaeanors of others. The firft of thefe cauies is too evident to render any proofs neceflary. We know how weak the origin of the Company was, to what a degree of power it increafed within the (pace ot half a century ; and how, at all fnccccding times, an aggrandizement of ftates, anc: ritories too vaft came to it. The lecond caufe can only be imputed to all the maritime na- tions of Europe, who, animated by the ex- ample, of this Company, have applied them- 5, fince the peace of Utrecht, to naviga- tion and commerce: infomuchj that after reckoning the : intereft of money, and the rilks of the iea, there is fcarcelv any benefit refults from moft of the articles in this traffic, th tt are become common ; to . we TRAVELS, t$<. 75 we muft join a cultivation conftantly carried on in different colonies, which has rendered io many productions much leis rare, and greatly cheaper, than they were many years ago. A natural confequence of the third cauie is, that the Company's officers, pre- vented in many cafes from making their for- tunes, and from recompencing themfelves in the manner which they think their due, have, inftead of ieeking with emulation to advance the interefts of the Company, neglected all the opportunities, and fubftituted their own private interefts for the public glory. We iupprefs other particulars, of which the de- tail would be odious. It-is only to be wifhed, that we may be able to indicate the moll eafv and efficacious means for remedying thefe evils. This is the object: which we propofe in the courfe of theie oblervations ; and which may be divided into three princi- pal parts: that is to fey, the navigation, com- merce, and government of the Company. I The Navigation of the Company. THE navigation to the Indies is the prin- ciple of the efbbli foment of the Company, and 76 T R A V ELS, and which ought to be confidered, not only as afociety of merchants, but more frill as a commercial power. Confidered under thefe two lights we may conceive the neceflity of the mips being proper for carrying good con- goes, and not lefs capable of defending them- ielves than attacking others in cafe of need. Nevertheless it is eafy to difcover, that the conflruction of moil: part of their fleets has many obitacles in the way of fulfilling theie ends, or even equalling the perfections of fo- reign mips employed in the fame trade. By a ferious attention to this defect, they might have efcaped many evils, which they have a long time experienced, but principally of late vears ; evils which, beiides thole flowing; from the iH-conitxuction of their ihips, have not a little contributed to the in- capacity of the perrons to whom they have been committed. Naval architecture is not like many other fciences, fubject to fuppofitions ; it has its principles and its rules. All depends on giv- ing the building an equal and methodical Itructure. It will rot fufhee to lengthen them feme feet ; for if we miftake in the pro- portions of tiie general dimeniions, the fault mull: be irreparable. They reject thole of 1 60 feet, under pretence that they draw too much TRAVELS, &e. 77 much water for certain ports ; and we remark, that other people enter thofe ports with mips greater than theirs ; ftill they neverthe- leis conftrua them from 135 to 150, or from 130 to 145.""*- Every fpecie is good and pro- per for the fcrvice of the Company, provided that the largenefs and depth be anfwerable to the length. No objection holds againft experience. If the entry of the ports is practicable for the ihips of" foreigners, if the banks of Bengal are not to them a hindrance, if other mips than thofe of the Company navigate without rifk at Canton, and the fame throughout China ; what difficulty is there in their imi- tating other people, by building fuch mips as they do, and which may be loaded and unloaded in all the ports ? An eilay of a few years would undoubtedly decide the fuccefs, to the advantage of their commerce and na- vigation, not only in the Indies but in Eu- rope itfelf; under the fuppofition of a better conduct with relation to the manoeuvres of them. In equipping the mips, it is alfo necefiary that they regulate themfelves by the example of other nations, who, with 50 or 60 men, do more than the Company with an hundred. By following the models propofed, the ex- pences 7? TRAVELS, \*f. vould not exceed the common coll ; and without giving into any prejudices, the mips would be incomparably better, and the : of merchandize much more prompt. There would alio relult from it, an augmen- tation of the naval iorces of the Company, of which the molt formidable fquadron might be equipped io the Indies, but notmerelv for the deft v. The interloper, the Apollo, is a proof of this, among many others ; this fhip, on its return to Europe, efcaped through the Struts of Sincapour, by the force of fail- ing, in Ipite of the efforts or rive of the molt couriderable cruziers of the Company. Thole which they have are more often emoloved in commerce than their real bull- nefs ; it follows therefore, that it is not aK the intereft of the Company to have them equipped at once ; it would fuffice to :.rmed according to the exigence of the ca One hundred and twenty men compote tfie ordinary crew or the largeft (hips or" the Company in voyages back ; in (mailer fhips, the numl • about ioo« II. TRAVELS, t&. 7j II. tlhe Navigation in the Indies. THE paffage from Europe to the Cape, is too long for the number of men which the Company annually embarks to arrive it\ health. In truth, the Chineie mips of the Englifh, that have hardly half the number, go from their ports, without touch- ing at the Cape, directly by the Straits of Sun da ; but they cannot bring them in com- panion with ours. It is to be wimed that the Company had fbme fmall eftablimment on this tide the Equator, for the refrefhment of the mips. They might fupply this defect by being allowed to put into St. Jago; where, after having refrefhed, they might continue their route to the Cape : The diitance and the expence would be very trifling. III. Jl.^e Navigation from the Indies to Holland. WE cannot but be aflomfhed, that the (hips of the Company are (hipwrecked in their return from the Indies, when thofe of other nations arrive fafe in port. Theie evils fo TRAVELS, gfc. evils are owing to two cauies ; one, the want of agility in the manoeuvre ; and the other, their being embarrailed with the merchandize of individuals. If it was poffible to permit them to fill their empty calks at St. Helena, and to pro- vide live provilion and paifurage, it would contribute much to the health of the crew, and the preiervation of the cattle. Perhaps the I lie of Afcenlion, which ought to be equally well known, might be as proper as the firft. It is certain, that one or the other of theie plac refreihment would eafe manycf the (hips in their return, in travers- ing lo long a voyage as from the Cape to Holland. TJieir holds being leis taken up with calks and provjfions, would contain a much greater quantity of merchandize. 1 ihall here prei I two other queitions, not dire&ly regarding the Indies. One, if in return, all the fleet ought to attend one bad failor ? The other, if it is abfolutelv ne- ceflary that the Company's mips lhould make the tour of the North of Scotland and Ire- i land, initead of entering the Channel, which would abridge the courfe more than a montii r IV. T R A V E L S, &c. 8t TV. The Commerce of the Company hi general. IT is requifite that commerce mould ei- ther be perfectly free, or entirely conftrained. The mixed ftate is iubject. to fo many incon- reniences, that it becomes more mifchievous than advantageous. We cannot here give the fhackles, or prescribe the bounds which depend not upon us alone : iuch is the nature of that of the Company throughout the In- dies, excepting the particular produce of the colonies, as ipices, and other commodities, whereof they alone are in poiieffion ; it is thus with the coffee of Java, and in part with the pepper ; but principally the com- merce of China. By permitting an entry in the river of Canton, although only to trade, the Chinefe rendered the Company its exclu- five grant of navigating there alone, which was more prejudicial than any thing to fo- reign nations. If me cannot at prefent equal them, it is a proof that they have already gained much ground, and that it will not be difficult for them to advance. Her commerce in the Weft of the Indies is in yet a worle ftate. She has the name of trafficking, while others have the efFect : re- Vol. I. G ferving t2 TRAVELS, is\. ferving the fpiceries, and the copper of Japan in ingots, two articles into which her rivals cannot break. All that me carries on, on this fide, will not bear any comparrifon with the lucrative trades of the Engliih and French ; for, one of her fhips, which en- ters the Ganges, there are not lefs than five of thofe nations ; and the city of Surat, fo famous for its commerce, receiving millions* touch nothing of the Dutch. Mocha, Jeda, Baflbra, all Perfia, and the coail: between the Peruan Gulph, and the river Indus, ought to be in the laft furprife, at thofe amazing quantities of merchandize, in which they trade every year, without ieeing more than the arrival of a iingle ihip of the Company half loaded, and whereof the cargo is not worth more than an hundred thoufand flo- rins. It is a long time fince their competitors have been feeii granting to individuals, pail- ports, and letters of protection, under their colours, and of which the returns are well worth thefe favours. The Dutch, on the contrary, are unmoved fpeclators of this ma- nagement, and are contented with their na- vigation of Batavia in right, and of fbme other ports, after having abandoned thofe of Siam, Pegu, Arracan, Achiu, and others, which TRAVELS, &£ S3 which foreigners, doubtlefs, would not daily frequent if they did not find their benefit in it? But .what are the articles eflential and moft ufeful to the Company ? Without contra- diction, the fpices, and copper in ingots. The remainder, as pewter, lead, vermilion, quickfilver, camphire, &c. of which the trade is in common with other nations, and where of there are generally a good market, it is not any great matter. But to return to theie quarters that limit themfelves in fending to EuropeftufFs, pepper, fait petre, and other minutiae of lefs value : as to the fluffs and opium on the Weftern coafts of Samatra, the Company has only the commerce of the laft article, from Baros to the point of Indrapora ; and the fame in the Weftern Provinces, in a part of the Malac- cas, of Jambi, Palembang, and Timor. The returning of opium would alio be left, if it was not advantageous to Batavia ; but where is its commerce of callicoes in the comptoirs under its dependence, if we except thofe which are made along the Weft coaft of Su- matra ? The traffic of the Weftern comptoirs is fb pitiful, that the article of fugars will not luffice for returning what they coft the Com- G 2 pany I4 T R A V ELS, is':. pany, in fending them to Surat, Malabar, Coromandel, Mocha, or Periia ; it will not defray the expences of the eftablifhments, which they maintain, and of the fhips. The profits have not ai : the expences for many years. It is in vain to alitdge, that this expence is iubmitted to as neceflary for ; the important benefit of the ipices, and the copper ; thefe two articles do princi- pally regard the Coromandel coaft ; and the being in poiTeilion of them, does credit to the government. When the Company reduces its commerce to thefe two articles, would fhe not lofe for them the benefit of the reft ; and how m expences will ihe lave by the reftriction : In- 1 of maintaining in a number of places, tor and his iuite, who form a council, it would iufrice, that one was employed of a certain rank, with two affiitants. This ing would retrench the expences one half. In the general reform of the actual fyftem - " the Company, and particularly its com- merce in the Weft, we do not comprehend the iile of Ceylon, although the mod confi- de rable, and the comptoir, the molt, ftrong of that part, not only from its productions of cinnamon, but becaufe that is the only colony which the C ioys ex- clulively, TRAVELS, fcfr. 8; clunVely, and may continue to enjoy as mif- trefs. In thefe refpects, which are very dif- ferent from other eftablifhments, me ought to be diftinguiihed, by regulating her con- duct upon the actual circumstances of com- merce in thofe quarters, which change from time to time. All that remains of Bengal, the Coroman- del, the Weftern coaft of Sumatra, Malabar, Surat, Perfia, and the Red Sea, the Company ought to referve with the trade of fpices and copper in ingots; taking nothing in return, but what is proper for Europe ; and making Batavia the center of a free commerce,* open to all the reft. By this, that city would be- came a redoubted rival to their competitors ; and by means of moderate imports, its com- merce would procure the Company real ad- vantages, inflead of the benefit ihe at prelent finds in fiich equivocal accounts.. Of the Commerce of China* THE commerce between Batavia and China, is very different from that which is made directly with Europe. The one can- not be too much encouraged, nor too much managed ; the other, although important, is G 3 much *5 T RAVEL S, WE .r cf fo- reign (hips, which, through v.v.iation of one .-.-. frequent the ports of E .It muft alfo be co . i, that the mips of the if, which go from - ia to traffic with China, and ft dice they return to iand, contribute to make a coran: f fo divided. they fhould give it v: ;. it is requiute to conti- nue it, but with moderation* V, hen . their race at Batavia, one iingte (hip would for this traffic. Tea constitutes the molt considerable branch of commerce between China and Europe : Without this article t! ; could not re- turn half loaded ; the reit, not being impor- tant enough for compeniating the .es of the freight, no perfon would undertake it. This prod u&i .:: :.'.: the principal object of the commerce between Batavia and China: for although the junks kept for f the colonies, for] re lane, potteries. to- bacco, paper, and sd cthe^ mi tiae, the tea is the merchandize which makes the beft return t r their ex- pences and care. The Quantify, which innually by Batavia to Kc ■'__. ... whe- ther on board the C( D . or thole of individuals, is 5tua] y known only to the merchants. TRAVELS, fcfr. 87 merchants. It is probable that the propofed arrangements would prevent, on the tide of individuals, the traniport of that production, but it would alio facilitate the importation to Batavia ; which would at once make the trade of the junks decline. It may be made a quefHon, whether it is for the interefl of the Company, that they mould buy all the tea, which the Chinele bring to Batavia ? The reafons for and againft it are equally fblid. Neverthelefs it is certain, that fo considerable a purchaie would caufe an embarraiTment and an inter- ruption in the traffic of the junks ; the more the Chinele are lubject to the fales of the Company, the more they are mailers of the fale of their tea ; after inspection, proof and ellimation made, beiides the formalities which decide if the Company retains it for her account or not. In cale me contents herielf with adhering to the antient cuftom, and loads a fhip with tea, received on the return of the Supercargoes from China ; lhe need not then mix in that commerce more than for the collection of her duties, but leave to the proprietors the liberty of diipoting of their merchandize as they like, which would be much more iimple, and more advan- tageous. G 4 Certain lj 13 TRAVELS, fgc. Certainly this proportion is of conse- quence, efpecially if we confider that there come every year into the United Provinces more than three millions of pounds of tea, not comprized in the accounts of the Com- pany, which reaps no profit from a tranfport ib conftant, and fo prodigious ; inftead of which, this commerce ought to be made at the fame time lucrative to them, and advan- tageous to individuals. A fhip loaded with tea, but with a reserved fund, will contaiu about 600,000 pounds; which iold, will, one with another, yield 20 (bis, or 240,000 florins to the Company. The expences of embarking it at Batavia, which is valued at two per cent, on the fale ; and which, with 'the expence of the voyage to Europe, does not. exceed the fum of 60,000 florins : there- fore the Company profits about 200,000, without other diiburlements or rifks than that of building, &c. This amounts to a mil- lion in rive mips, betides 200,000 florins profit, on the iilver in making the return. VI. TRAVELS, fefr, 89 VI. Of the Commerce of the Company, relative 16 other articles. THE trade of pepper belongs exclusively to the Company, in virtue of its treaties with the Princes of the country. She ought to preferve this trade with the greateft care, and maintain this acquifition with dignity, agreeable to her power, fo very confiderable in thole quarters. It is the fame at Bantam and Palembursrh, and alfo on the greateft part of the coaft of Malabar. We know, that the direction of this commerce is iub- jecl: to very great abuies ; it is particularly neceflary to ordain, that the pepper, which the Company appropriates, be ready for fale before the departure of the junks. Another part of their commerce, which in fpite of its declenlion, for many years, ought alio to be preferved, and which is that of Japan. The re-eftablifhment of the affairs of that comptoir depend, only upon integrity and vigilance. It has been alone: time agitated, both in Holland, and in the Indies, whether the na- vigation of individuals, between the Eafrern Provinces and Batavia, was favourable or not to $o T R A V E L S, &. to the Company. Without deciding abfb- lutely upon this point, we may remark, that the abolition of this privilege would be very hard upon the poorer communities ot thole rters, which furnifh the maintenance of that capital ; befides, nothing would be gained by it ; for, by oppreihng the inhabi- tants of Amboina and Banda, they would cut off the relource, and favour the fraud and malveriation in the delivery of the cloves, (of which the commerce is fo preci- ous to the Company), and' would become more chargeable than advantageous. There is no occaiion to prohibit to individuals the navigation of Macaiiar and Amboina, be- caufe this province is the grainery of rice for thole quarters ; and for the lame reafon re- ipeclmg the people of Batavia, whole inha- bitants are accuftomed to bring the oils of t Gulph of Cr.'ili ; alio il.ves, and many other (mailer articles. As to the commerce or* the Philippines, or .ilia, their capital, has too great a con- nection with that of the Company to be i':d over in iilcnce. On one iide, theie ill receive annual!;.', by the regiiier-ihip, the fluffs of the Indies, and other merchandize, which they are in want of: on the other, they are provided with cinnamon, which is much TRAVELS, Ifc. 9t much ufed. This laft commerce regards the Company ; the other, although more important, carries itfelf on without her par- ticipation, by the way of Surat, Bombay, Porto Novo, Madras, Bengal, and by the Strait of Malacca to the Philippines. For a number of years, this commerce of indivi- duals, which is fraudulent, and contrary to antient orders, has been carried on under the name of the Armenians, &c. By favour of this toleration, it has been ib eftablifhed, that it would be difficult at prelent to throw any obftacle m the way of it, without ruining that of Batavia with thofe quarters, which would by no means be practicable. It is ne- verthelefs certain, that the Philippines ought to be an object of the Company's attention, who has much intereit in obierving well all thefe neighbouring iflands. Coffee has been for a lone: time one of the beft articles in which the Company trades ; at prefent, it feems rather to fail ; lo fufceptible of viciilitudes is all commerce t pepper, on the contrary., which has been overcharged, pofTefies a fale ib coniiderable in Europe, that there is no fear of a fuperfluiry: with coffee they can do no better than ac- commodate themfelves to the times. Sugar 92 TRAVELS, c>. Sugar is another article much lower than it was heretofore. Upon ftrong complaints coming from Batavia, the regency employed itielf in leeking the caufes of the decreale. In 1740, in puriuance of lome advice offered them, new regulations were made ; but the event was lb far from anlwering, that lefs was made by it than before. This is too im- portant a branch of commerce to be given up, and it ferves at prelent to rill up the mips when in want of faltpetre. VII. Of the PofeffionS) Colonies, and Ejlsbii/hmcnfs of the Company* THERE is a diftinclion to be made be- tween the feveral territories in the Indies, fubjecl: to the Company, and thole where they have only the privilege or the cuftoni of navigating with views of commerce. The firft requires fomething more majeilic than an efhbliihment; the fecond, demands only factories for the traffic, and magazines for the merchandize. The firft of theie claries com- prehends Jacatra, Ceylon, Amboina, the iiles ofBanda, part of Macaflar, and in fome refpect, the Malabar. The fecond contains moil: of the places fituated in the Weftern Pai TRAVELS, && $3 Parts of the Indies, as Bengal, Coromandel, Surat, Perfia, and Mocha. The weftern coaft of Sumatra belongs not entirely to them ; and Malacca is held rather as a frontier, which might be abandoned were it not for the colo- nies or iettlements of commerce. Ternate and Macallar cover the two coafts of the ifles from which they draw the fpices, and therefore ought to be in a ftate of defence : they might alio fub-divide thefe clanes into places where they refide only for cultivating the friendship of the Indian Princes, as at Palembang, Jamba, the comptoirs of Java and Bantam. When we confider under thefe diftinclions, thefe different countries, their extent and their diftance, we mall be obliged to agree, that the Company has pufhed a little too far its commerce and its navigation ; and that, wheivfhe reduces herfelf to narrower bounds, file will fave great and fupernuous expences, and would not gain leis treaiure. VIII. Of the Colanies of Ceylon and the Spice-IJlands. Befides the kingdom of Jacatra, Macaflar, and a part of Ternate, the company poffenes the property of Ceylon, Amboina, andBanda. There is in the lafi of thefe ifles no other powerj 9i. TRAVELS, &c. power ; but although we find many princes in that of Amboyna, (he is not the lefs ac- knowledged fovereign of the extent of its ter- ritory which belongs to her. Thefe domains are thofe which are juftly called by the title of the Dutch colonies, and where the parade, worthy of majefty, is abfolutely neceffary. The fruits which the Company draw from them, recompence them largely for the ex- pence, and infure them the better the peace- able pofleffion of theie territories, which are the only refource of the Company. It is, ne- verthelels true, that their commerce is de- clined, but there are means of repairing the lofs, or at leaft of preventing the further de- cline of it. The Spice-Iflands require to be kept in a good ftate of defence, and the colonies to be well provided for. Thofe, who have been upon the fpot, know how much they have neglected thefe articles. Banda is ftrong by its fituation and its caftles ; Amboina, on the contrary, is fo weak, that although they have known, for more than an age, the bad ftate of its fortifications, they have never dreamt of putting them in order. The con- junclureswill not always permit the execution of enterprizes fo expenfive ; but, if they had every year done a little, the work would long ago TRAVELS, fc>V. r> ago have been finiihed. The declenfion of the colony of Ambion-a, is perceptible in the diminution of the crops of cloves, which are the principal product of that ifland, and the moil material part of the public revenue. It is more than fifteen years that they have not only permitted, but even ordained new plantations ; without which, in abundance, the want would not be removed. It is the fault of thofe oppreilbri employed in the fer- vice of the Company, who, for a long time, have devoured every thing for their own fub- fillence, and who, not content with a leeal benefit, tread every thing under foot, till the inhabitants, are difgufred with their labours, of which they fee all the advantages pais to other hands. The only means that we know of redreff. *mg the affairs of the Molucca Iflands, con- fidered as a private colony of the Company, are to recommend the culture of the landslip Manado, and alio in the other neighbour- mg ides, and to augment the purchafe of gold dufr, if it be poiiible, in order, thereby, to render more fupportable the expenee occa- sioned by this frontier. IX 5S TRAVEL?, tf* IX. Bahtvia d*J Jacafra. IT is certainly for the glory of the Com- y, to intereft herfeif in the lplendor aggrandizement of Batavia; this has been tmiverially acknowledged, as true in all times, from the making that citv the balls or" her .lifhment in the Ealt-Indies, and the ar- rangements that have been taken in confe- quence, have been accompanied with a fuc- :o rapid and fo finking, that at prefent tills capital may he named the Queen of the t, as well for the number of its inna- te, as with reject to its m; Icence. 'J 'he revenues which theCompanydra , and its dominions, in the king- dom of Jacatra, are efti ted at one i of florins ; but they muft be more than that, if we comprehend the duties : the Ode of merchandile, thole upon the fiihery, and many others, which have been ceded for the erection and maintenance of a privy council. We have laid, and we repeat it, that it the Company would reierve the commerce c: Indies with Europe, and in the Indies, the returns from the comptoirs to I ic Wefti if vould collect in the capital, the two prin- cipal HOLLAND. 97 cipal articles of the commerce of the Eaft, which are the fpices and the copper of Japan in ingots : if with thefe me was to reduce her ordinary expences to a reafonable medio- crity ; if ine took care to provide her colo- nies with all the neceflaries for drawing from them the fruits required ; if, in fine, me granted to each the liberty of navigation and traffic, with an exception to the Eaft of Ba- tavia, it is not to be doubted, but that citv would become, in a fhort time, the center of commerce, and the iburce of a fruitful opulence ; it would be the retirement of rich men, who would fix themfelves there by choice, as a retreat, or with delign of dii- pofing of their fortunes to the beft account. They ought to be inipired with the utmofr. emulation, to neglect nothing that may ren- der life eaiy and agreeable, particularly by abundance, and an uniform price of commodi- ties. Numbers of families) who have been fpread through divers territories in the Indies, pre- fer living in this capital, where there reigns more than any where elfe, abundance, repoie, and iecurity, under the protection of the Com- pany. The Chinefe have began to cultivate the lands, which is a forerunner, to them, of a perfect and extended culture. The lands Vol. I. H of 98 TRAVELS THROUGH of Preanger, fituated about a day's journey and half from Batavia, produce, although they are not the heft, and in fpite of the lit- tle care that has been hitherto taken of them, peafe, beans, cabbages, and other legumes. What might not be gained from the lands of Java, the fmeft and moft fertile in the world, if they were cultivated as they ought ! We know by experience, that thofe of the .Dutch nation are not proper for labour: whether from vanity or idlenefs they difdain this fort, and love better to live in indigent idlenefs. For which reafon, it would be proper to employ, in agriculture, the Saltz- burgh countrymen, the Palatines, or others, who might embark iucceflively, ten or more, on board every (hip the Company fends. In a few years there would then be labourers enough for cultivating the lands, and im- proving the new ones. No perfon can doubt that thefe men would find in the In- dies an honeft fubfiflence, from taking a very little care about it : for without burthen- in? themfelves with the coffee of the Com- •pany, nor exhaufting the country by plan- tations of fugar, which ought to be left to the Chinefe, the fingle article of pepper might furnifh the wants of more than a thou- sand. It would be right for them, during the HOLLAND. 9, the five firft years, to advance an hundrol crowns, to place them in a ftate of procuring the neceflary uteufils for cultivation, that they might be able to fubtiil, during the time of getting their lands in order. The reimburfement of thefe fums iliould be made as loon as their circumitances would permit." The extracts which I have here given oi this memoir, and which was written by one of the Governor Generals of the Eait Indies, contain many very curious particulars. . They let us into feveral important circumftances attending that famous Company, which are no where elfe to be met with : it appears evidently that there is much (hew in the im- menfity of the commerce they carry on ; and thofe, who are fo eager to rival the Dutch in the Indies, ought certainly to make a ftrong distinction between the trades there carried on : we rind that it would be for the advantage of the Company, to lay open all the commerce of the Eait. to their own iub- jecls, except that of fpice, and copper of Ja- pan ; the other branches add much to their expences, but not proportionably to their profit. Thefe are objects which it much be- hoves anv other nation to e;et a lhare in. though none have a great reafbn tc hope it, H 2 ex- ioo TRAVELS THROUGH except the Spaniards; their being poflefled of the Philippines might render them terrible rivals of the Dutch ; for in thole iilands the product of cinnamon is common, and, in all probability, nutmegs and cloves might alfo be cultivated with equal fucceis ; but thefe advantages are in the hands ol lo lazy and unenterprizing a people, that the Dutch have little reafon to fear any thing they will do. But a circumftance of great moment in this memoir, is the clear proof we have in it, of the decline in their Eaft India affairs. Whe- ther or not the author is exactly right in all his observations on this head is not of much importance ; but the general tact on which he grounds them, the decline of trade, is extremely evident. Now it is very obfervable, that this decline has taken place in the midft of general peace, without any accidents or iudden changes that could affect the com- merce ; this gives one no flight reafon to conclude, that the author is not right in his propofals of abandoning that part of the traf- fic, which does not equal the reft, merely with a view to contract expences : the real fact is, that great fucceis in all trades, in all branches of general commerce, is ever found to attend an high fpirited and enterprizing period ; times in which great undertakings are HOLLAND. ici are common, and in which trade and war go hand in hand : the foundation and pro- grefs of the Dutch republic itfelf is a ftriking proof of this ; and that of their Eait India Company is equally to be produced as afimilar inftaiice. While the fpirit of enterprize and coiiquefl tailed, the trade of the Company flouriihed ; but the moment thev let them- felves down quietly to enjoy what they had gained, from that time their commerce de- clined. The Portuguele experienced mi- nutely the fame fate ; that vaff. commerce which they poflefled in the Indies, was all railed in the midit. of war and bold enter- prizes : in the preient age, the Englifh Com- pany perform the' greateft. feats in the field, and is conitantly engaged in war ; do we not find iti this period, while the expences occa- iioned by iuch war run higher than ever known, that the trade of the Company is alio greater, and its affairs in general more prolperous than ever known ? The dead calm of peace is good for nought but breeding corruptions, and flackening all dif- cipline ; but in the din of war, and the hurry of enterprize, there is a keennels in every mind, which has a beneficial effect on all tranfactions whether of arms or commerce; beiides, difficulties arife, and are met with on H 3 every J02 TRAVELS THROUGH every hand, which for ever keep activity awake, and make commerce proiper better than when every gale is favourable, and every lea is calm; nothing is !o much to be dreaded by a commercial people, as that flothful in- activity which long cafe and iecuritv are lure to bring. I have been led into theie re- flections by the obfervations which are com- monly made on the Eaft India Company of England ; many pcrions have found much fault with the idea of wars and conqueits, but let me remark, that the more of them the better ; when once it ceaies to be a ipi- rited, enterprizing, warlike company, it will ceaie to be an advantageous trading one. CHAP. HOLLAND. 103 CHAP. V. Of the Prefent State of the Dutch Commerce in Europe. TRAVELLERS too often, for the fake of amufmg their readers, facririce the more ufeful objects : I do not apprehend that a journey through Holland, with fome re- fidence in the principal cities, mould pro- duce nothing more than a defcription of ca- nals and town-houfes; on the contrary, I think it more ufeful to lay before one's read- ers, fuch accounts of agriculture, manufac- tures, and commerce, as can be gained both by converfation with the natives, and alfo an examination of their heft writers, with proper extracts from fuch parts as never ap- peared in our language ; by thefe means, a traveller is enabled to mix the ufeful with the agreeable, and give better and more mo- dern accounts of thefe matters, than other writers who have preceded him. I con- ducted myfelf on this plan in the laft chap- H 4 ter, io4 TRAVELS THROUGH tcr. and I (hall do the fame here, but taking different guides. The BALTIC. BEFORE the act cf navigation in En- gland, the commerce of the Baltic employed from a thoufand to twelve hundred mips of Holland, which, for the moil part, went half loaded, and returned wholly fo ; the com- merce cf Norway, alone, employed three hundred fhips every year, of four or five hundred tons. The act of navigation having retrained the carrying trade of the Dutch to her ports to the fingle commodities produced in Holland, their commerce with the North at once differed a great diminution ; and the inereafe of the Englifh marine augmented in England the confumption of the commodi- ties of the North, proper for the conllruclion of fhics ; which weakened the commerce of the Dutch in the northern feas, by the com- petition of the Engliih, infinitely difadvan- tageous to the Dutch merchants in all their {ales. Thefe two caufes, which flow from the fame principle, are the reafon of the ac- tual ftate of the commerce of the Dutch with the HOLLAND. J05 the North, which is reduced to half that which England pofTefTes at preient. The importations at Pe- terlburgh of merchan- Rubles. dize from Holland, in 1753, amounted to 47)691 58 The exportations to 344,792 3 * Excefs of the importa- tions of merchandize upon the exportations. 131,699 26 £ In 1754, the importa- tions arofe to 396,797 23 5: The exportations to 3l7$35 69 *, Excefs 81,961 54 I We may therefore value the importations of the Dutch in merchandize from Peteri- hurgh, at a common year, in time of peace, at two millions, or two millions and a quar- ter of livres, or about one hundred thouiand pounds ; and the exports to hxteen or feven- teen hundred thoufand livres, or about fe- venty thoufand pounds ; and the excels of the importations on the exportations, at from four to fix hundred thoufand livres, or about twenty one thouiand pounds. The increafe of the Engliih marine, iince the act of navigation, has doubled five times over, in their ports, the confumption of the pro- ducts of the North, proper for the confr ruc- tion ic6 TRAVELS THROUGH tion of their armaments. The conftant ap- plication of England to acquire the empire of the fea, has given them to underfhnd, that the principal means of following it coniiiled in a great navigation, and a great commerce ; and that nation has likewife procured itielf, by the ability of the negotiators of its treaties of commerce, the greatefl: advantages. It is under the protection of thefe treaties that England has eilablifhed houfes of commerce in the North, above all at Peterlburgh, and in much greater number than the Dutch, and infi litcly more rich; for this commerce re- quires foreign houfes to have great funds for providing and contracting with advantage, both in the fales, and alio in the purchaies made. It is the Engliih who give price to the merchandize of Ruffia, and who give the tone to the commerce. If we judge of the commerce of the Engliih in the North, by that which they carry on at Peterfburffh, we mav conceive them to have half the trade of the Baltic. Accord- ing to an account lent from a houie at Peterl- burgh, our of 327 mips which entered in 1753, there were 149 Engliih 70 Dutch 3 French 8 Ruffian HOLLAND. ftp 8 Ruffian 25 Lubeckers 18 Daniih 2 1 Me c k ie n gh u rg h e r s 6 Dantzickers 2 Hamburghers 10 Stetiners 1 Holfteincr 14 Swedifh 327 Total. The exportations from England in merchan- Rubles. dize to Peterfbiirgh, in 1753, was 2,084,489 70 t The importations in mer- chandize only 999,963 67 Excels of the exportations 1.084,524 3 i In 1754, the exportations amounted to 2,207,924 24 t The importations in mer- chandize 989,693 92 I Excefs of the exporta- tions 1,218,230 31 T We may therefore value the exportations of the Englifh to Peterfburgb, m merchan- dize, one year with another, in time of peace, at from ten to twelve millions of livres, or near io* {TRAVELS THROUG II near five hundred thoufand pounds. Their importations at five millions, or near two hun- dred and twenty thoufand pounds ; and the balance at five or fix millions or" livres. In time of war, the excels is much greater, as England imports from Rufiia a much greater quantity of hemp for her maritime arma- ments. The general merchan- dize exported to Peterf- burgh in 1 753 amount- ed to 3,461,383 62 The merchandize entered 3,220,623 76 % Excefsof the exportation s 240,759 §5 i In 1754-5 the exportations amounted to 3->S77->939 99 * The importations to 3,279,097 88 i Excefs of exportations 298,842 10 We may therefore value the balance of exportation and importation in the total trade of Peterfburgh, during thefe two years of peace, at from twelve to fifteen hundred thoufand livres, or about fixty thoufand pounds. The total of the trade being from thirty-three to thirty-five millions of livres, or about one million four hundred thouland pounds fterling. Such is the picture which may be given of the progrefs of induftry in Rufiia, if we may believe HOLLAND. i»9 Relieve the nilnifters of that empire. It is true, that the government has given much attention to gaining all forts of manufactures, particularly all fruits of wool, lilk, and linens, which they partly effect by their minifters at foreign courts feducing work- men to go thither. But as they act upon bad principles, the fuccefs is not anfwerable to their hope. Foreigners, transported thus to Ruffia, are unhappy, and their indufhy is not natural to the country. The commerce of Holland with Norway is principally for timber, in return for which the Dutch pay large fums of money : with Sweden- (he trades for iron, and ibme naval •ftores, for which (he fends all the products of the Eaft Indies, and of the fbuthern parts of Europe, but have been much rivalled therein by the French. Her principal Bal- tic trade is with Dantzick, from whence me brings amazing quantities of corn, and in return iupplies Poland, through that citv, with more commodities than any other na- tion in Europe, particularly in Ea(i India goods, wines, brandy, and all forts of ma- failures. GER- no TRAVELS THROUGH GERMAN Y. THE trade of very confiderable tracls in the North of Germany centers at Ham- burgh, which can be confidered only as a ri- val of Holland ; but the central and Southern parts of the empire are fupplied, in a great degree, by the Dutch : they have a large trade with Bremen and Emden, for the fupply of the interior country ; but the commerce of the Rhine is moft confiderable ; the Dutch alone have this trade, and they regard them- felves almofr. as the proprietors of the navi- gation of that river : this navigation goes far into Switzerland, and by means of the Mofelle, the Maine, and the Neckar, a prodi- gious extent of populous country, with many great towns, are connected, and trade imme- diately to Holland. The induftrious city of Nuremburgh lends a variety of manufac- tures, particularly toys, of which in England there is a vafl coniumption, and which are called Dutch toys, becaufe we have them from Holland. It is necefYary to be expla- natory of this inland trade, as the writers in the Englifh language, who have treated of the commerce of the Dutch, have generally overlooked it. Bv HOLLAND. in By means of the navigation of the Pvhine, the Dutch ierve the four Electorates of the Rhine, Sarbruck, Deux Ponts, Baden, Wur- temburg, the Brifgau Spireback, Alface, almofr. all Switzerland, and the greateft part of Loraine, with all forts of fpiceries, drugs, oils, rice, whalebone, tin, copper, brafs wire, fugar, tea, coffee, the wines of France and Spain, brandies, dried fruits, dried and falted fifh, &c Of moil: of thefe commodities there is an immenfe confumption in almoft: all this extent of country. Holland main- tains by her commerce that of Frankfort, which is only a grand magazine, fubordinate to thofe of Holland ; fo that almofr. all the connections, all the correfpondencies, and the commerce of that city, which extend them- felves far into Germany, are nothing but a commerce at fecond hand, of which that of Holland is the firft. The woods which come to the Dutch by the Neckar and the Rhine ; the wines of the Rhine and the Mofelle, the pot afhes, the iron, the tobacco of Swabia, the Palatinate, and of Spireback, are all very rich, and make the principal articles of the returns in this commerce. The loadings of the boats which come to Cologne, are for the greateil part of fine merchandize, inibmuch that ths loading m TRAVELS THROUGH loading of a fingle barge often amounts to five or fix hundred thoufand florins. Such is the idea of the foundation of this com- merce, that we muft, for discovering the whole amount and advantages, obferve the markets in Holland and Germany, and in the other countries that take a part. We mull coniider Holland as the regular and forced market, where all thefe countries buy all the commodities named above, both for their own ufe, and iale of the iuperrluity. We ought, at the fame time, to diillnguiih the refpeclive proprietors of the commodities, and the merchants who come lit between thole proprietors ; and obferve, that it is by means of thefe merchants that there exifts any bargains and fales, freights, or return, if we except the article wood, which is all done bv cammiflion. No merchant in Hol- land makes his purchases in Germany, nor fends any thing from Holland on his own account, with exception of wines, becaufe thev do not lend the wines of any country to Holland to fell, but by commimon ; and wood is booarht only bv commimon at the firll hand : the wine and timber merchants of Holland contract upon the iron them* felves. There are alio little traders in Hol- land, who charge themielves with conduci- ng HOLLAND. uj Sng merchandize of this fort in their own boats to Cologne ; their commerce extends no further : they remain at Cologne till they have made their file, and purchafed a leading* for a return ; thefe loadings are not rich ; and there are not, perhaps, ten barges in Holland that ufe this commerce, on account of the proprietors. All the reft of the commerce of the Rhine, both out and home, is carried on by commiffion ; they fell in Holland by com- miffion the hides, pct-aihes, corn, and to- bacco. Some Dutchmen {peculate in thefe articles, and in making their purchafes at the place ; this however is rare. All the mer- chants, thofe from Franckfort as well as all the other cities concerned in the naviga- tion of the Rhine, make their purchafes at Amfterdam, or Rotterdam, by their corref- pondents. The boats, which make the na- vigation from Holland to Cologne, have only a commerce in freight from the proprietors ; neither have they any intereft in the pur- chafe or lale of the merchandize with which they are loaded ; and this trade, by freight- ing, extends no farther than Cologne, where the merchandize is unloaded, and loaded again on board the boats of the country. Vol. I. I The U4 TRAVELS THROUGH The commerce of the Rhine is an object of more than ten millions a year ; and beiidcs the profit that the Dutch make upon the purchafe and fale of the merchandize, this trade further gives three precious branches, which are of the moil folid benefit ; th^ freight of the navigation from Holland to Cologne, and from Cologne to Holland, the commiiiion and the circulation of credit, which is a regular benefit without any rrfk. In calculating thele three extenfive branches at a value of more than one hundred mil- lions, it is eaiy to form an idea of the folid benefits which Holland draws from the na- vigation of the Rhine. If the duties which have been impofcd at Weiel, on the navigation of this river, are inch as render the navigation of Holland to Cologne dearer than the carriage by land, either from Maeftrieht to Cologne, or from BrurTels to Treves, it is not to be doubted but the Sovereign of Weiel, and his fubjecls, will 1 rely all benefits anting from the navigation of the Rhine. All the commerce of Holland, which is made by that river, might equally be made by taking the Rhine at Cologne, and the route by land from Maefiricht to Cologne, or by taking the Mofelle at Treves ; the trade might equally HOLLAND. n5 fquatfy be followed m thefe two routes ; and it would in fuch a cafe happen, that the great duties impofed at Wefel, which the Sovereign has reduced to a branch of his revenues, would produce fcarce any thing ; but at the fame time would be ruinous to his fubjects. Thefe two new routes, which commerce would be forced to take, would add, without a doubt, a new value to merchandize; above all, to that which, would be fent by the route of Maeftricht to Cologne ; for this carriage by land could not be lefs than three or four per cent, on the merchandize, and perhaps more, if we col- lider the incumbrance on the merchandize that returns. Reipecting the route of Bruiiels to Treves, the government of the Low Countries is too enlightened and too wile not to favour, with all its protection, the tranlport of the commerce of Holland by that way, if the duties impofed at Weiel obliged the Dutch to take it. This route would beccme, per- haps, lefs advantageous than that of Maef- trecht to Cologne, and might do, inflead of it, if the navigation of the Rhine was loaded with heavy duties. We, neverthelefs, ought not to diiTemble, in allowing that great mifchief would remit I 2 from tiS TRAVELS THROUGH from burthening this navigation with toO great duties. But this evil would fall prin- cipally upon all that part of Germany, which exports its timber and other commo- dities by the Neckar, the Maine, the Mofelle, arid the Rhine. The proprietors would be forced to lell all their: commodities at a low price, for fuftaining the competition of mer- chandize of the fame fort in the markets of Holland ; and their timber forced to fupport iuch heavy duties, becaufe unable to be con« veyed by any other navigation, would ne- ccffarily drop to a contemptible price. The commerce of the Maefe is not an ob- ject, ib important, but the navigation through the country of Liege is of convenience ; it makes a great coniumpKon of fpice, fugar, tea, coffee, drugs, m*h, hides, and many of the commodities of the Indies. Holland draws from thence arms- of all forts, hides, charcoal, utenfhV of iron of all forts, &c. She carries by land from Nimeguen the manufactures of woollen fluffs, which are fpread in great numbers in the environs of Liege, Aix la Chapelle, and in the country of Juliers, wools of all forts, oil of olive, &c. &c. This article is verv rich, fince the only magazine which has beea fhade of theft HOLLAND. n7 thefe merchandize is at Nimeguen ;- for being carried by land to their deiti nation, has en- riched immenfely the commi/iioners. FLANDERS. THE Dutch furniih to the Auftrian pro- vinces fpices, fugar, tea, coffee, drugs of all lbrts, cocoa, linens, India {luffs, raw hides, Spanifh wool, copper, brafs, pot- afhes, tin, lead, Rheniih and Mofelle wines, thofe of Spain, tobacco, oils, fifh dry and falted, ivory, the fruits of Provence and Italy, £lks, cotton, and all the merchandize of the Levant, flax-ieed, timber for building, §zc. They draw principally in return, corn, and ccleieed, linens, lace, bricks and ftone, &c, The commerce of thefe provinces is one of the moil advantageous branches of that of Holland. She could not loie two articles more interesting than the iale of printed linens, and of paper. The paper mills, have been much increafed of late years,, and they have eftabliihed manufactures qf printed ■ linens and cottons, at Anvers j the Dutch will likcwile lofe the commerce from the cole- feed of Brabant and Flanders, if they con- tinue ere'Sting colefeed mills, Ii8 TRAVELS THROUGH The adminiftration of the Auitrian- pro- vinces has made, from time to time, feveral >rts for drawing- their commerce out of the hands of the Dutch; but thefe attempts are yet too weak, for giving a fenfible decreafe to the Dutch trade. Such are the burthens which thev have laid on the importation of herrings from Holland ; and the precautions .taken for importing all the Spanifh wool that is wanted at Oitend, which the manufacturers at Limbing, Verviers, Juliers, Aix la Cha- pelle, o:c. draw at preient.from Amfterdam and Rotterdam. It is certain, that the ad- miniftration of the Low Countries will fuc- ceed, when they come to be directed on good principles, in providing thefe provinces by iea with herrings and faked fifh ; but thev can never make it an object of com- merce with foreigners in competition with the Dutch, while the provinces remain fo deftitute of a marine. The article of the import of Spanifh wool, eltablifhed at Of- fend with fuccefs, cannot fubfift to the de- triment of the Dutch, any longer than the Republic does not prohibit the mips of its iubjects from tranfportmg the wool to any hut its own ports ; becauie the merchants of the Low Countries, from whom they pro- cure the commifiions, are not in a It ate of loading HOLLAND. n9 loading the Spanifh wools in {hips of their own ; they are obliged to. freight the Dutch ihips. If they undertook the navigation themfelves they could get no freight to, Spain, confequently, the trade would become ruinous to themfelves and the manufacturers. Thus the Dutch will preferve all they poflefs of the commerce of the Auftrian provinces, while thofe provinces remain without a trad- ing marine. GREAT BRITAIN. FROM the eftablifhment of the Repub- lic there has always been a great trade be- tween it and England in ipite of the efforts of the envious of both nations, which are abfurdities ; while France and England, are at all times rivals in doing mifchief the one to the other, and perhaps alfo to all the other nations of Europe : they have difputed with each other in negociations of alliance with the Republic. Each of thefe two powers has prefented a fyitem of political in- terefts to draw the friendihip of the Repub- lic : it is certain, that the French negotiators might make a merit of the greatefr, and moil feniible intereils of commerce,, nor could it be conceived poffible for England to remove I 4 the ft* TRAVELS THROUGH Republic from its rival, and to attach het bv lenilble men * : ihe ought to Sx to thok me- from K:l ::v.-r:y carried on with Erifckrad ivery : niderable one* for t.\ bbri in which commerce ieraj tn rough Burope: this has declined rerjr niti :h nnce 1 6 - 1 . the epoch the act of na- . ta England. Tac Dutch take of England, tobacco, tin, wool lea goods, jewels, ciincallery, corn, lead, occ. From Scotland and Ireland, fill bdef film or., butter, tallow, hides, coal, £cc. this commerce is aimoii entirely in favour of England. After the conlun:. .: i in Hol- . of this merchandize the remainder i» exported, but does hdt y-.li the Dure gt : than a million. T'.. fehitd pfobibition on ft}* rei£n manufactures, particularly en linens - ^j i feat ft in Holl tie owing to the care .ich Great Britain, and above all Ire- land, fc - ro S*6 cidtore cf fa£, and r'.e making cf linen. The exports from Holland are aim eft entirely reduced to jpicc . 1 England alio gains the frei commimo:: .:f all that ::■ I bv Holland;. to ::. : . \ danrt . ■. tween HOLLAND i2f -geous to the former as it really Is, it is be- caule this balance is lb much affected by the interest of that immenfe proportion of the national debt of England, which belongs to the Dutch. F R A N C E. THE commerce of Holland with France has been always very considerable, and of very great importance to the two nations ; but above all to the French, by the prodio-i- ous quantity of merchandize which the Dutch draw from that kingdom, both for their own ule, and for maintaining their commerce with other nations : but it mav be truly laid, that this commerce is alio of much conlequence to the Dutch, not onlv for their own neceflary conlumption, but by lofing this trade they would alio loie the benefit of their exportations to France ; and jn their importations, the benefit of their af. fortments for the North, a branch of freight and navigation very extenfive, with all the acceflary advantages of the magazines in Holland, of merchandize lent to and brought from France, articles infinitely precious in maintaining the population of the Republic. It therefore imports the Dutch much to cul- . tivate ,22 TRAVELS THROUGH tivate with care this commerc:-. :. :o main- tain their iupcriority over the Hanleatic towns, whole competition they have to tain. It is not lefs true that the commerc Holland is very inte retting to France, and that ihe could not be removed from it with- out loiing tn -ous adva - ges of a gi competition, and thoie likewile which r from the interior confumption of Holland, which is not to be deipifed ; for if there productions in France, which Holland can- not do without, there are alio' many others, and much interior consumption, that would be wholly reftrained, if France buithc tills commerce. We may therefore hold it for a verv plain and iimple truth, I immenfe commerce between Holland and France is rei the two nations, and that neither of them could burthei without doing mifchief to the other, and to themielves. We may divide in general the commerce which the Dutch carry on with France into two branches ; the trad .d, and that by fea. The firit has tor its object the manu- factures, clincallery, and the modes which the Dutch draw from France by the I Countries. The u Lmerce we k QOW HOLLAND. 123 know is carried from all the ports of that monarchy, and is not bounded by the pro- ductions of the kingdom ; it embraces alio thofe. of the Colonies, and fome articles which her Eaft India Company receives from her eflablifhment in the Indies and China. The Levant alio furnifhes many articles of confequence, by the way of Marleilles, which enter into the commerce of Holland with France. The interior confumption of Holland, founded in luxury, takes many commodities imported from France. For although oeco- nomy reigns among the Dutch, the con- fumption In their tables and their drefs is in- finitely increafed. Neverthelefs this impor- tation from France furnifhes a rich re-expor- tation. It was eftimatcd, before the laft war, that the returns from America to France, in iugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton, amounted from one hundred and forty to one hundred and forty-five millions per annum, or 6,34.3,0001. fterling. Near half thofe com- modities, excepting the cotton ufed in the manufactures of France, is lent from France to Amilerdam or Rotterdam, either on ac- count of the Dutch, or to be fold on account of the French : all this rich part of the commerce of France is entirely employed in re- Is* TRAVELS THROUGH re-exportation ; for Holland draw? from her own Colonies as much as is neceilarv for her own coniumption in all thefe articles!. This immenfe importation from France n made entirely by Dutch fhips ; thus in leaving to the advantages of commerce the uncertainty which accompanies the refult of buying- and felling, we ought to calculate a very great fum, by which the riches of the Republic are increafed with a phyiical cer- taintv ; the freight, importation and expor- tation, the cuftoms, the loading and unload- ing in the ports of Holland, the duties of irowage, Sec. and the commiiiion. If we. :der in detail, the importations and ex-, portations of Holland, her navigation in Eu- rope, and the advantages of aiYortments of goods in her general magazine, there is n<* txfa of commerce more precious to her than that with France, and which me ought to prelerve with the greateit care : fhe has loft fome advantages of her herring tithe ry, but that of France is too weak to rival hers amonglt foreigners ; but it is increafed to da her innnite prejudice in the interior con-, fumprion of that kingdom. The French have not made weak efforts for getting into, their own hands their trade to the North but the merchants of that nation, prmcU H O t U N E is* pally occupied by the commerce of Ame- rica, require too .great encouragements for- carrying on their own commerce of the North ; becaufe the benefit is much inferior to that of the American commerce. There h befides another reafon, which ought for a long time to preferve the Dutch in pofleillon of thefe branches, drawn from the nature ifcfelf of the commerce of France, and the fituatioa ©f moft of the French merchants. The commerce of the North demands very consi- derable fums to be advanced for a long time, and confequently a great capital, long em- ployed for a very moderate profit ; while the intereft paid for money, employed in the commerce of France, is always reckoned at fix per cent. Few of the French merchants have funds fufficient for waiting the return for lb littie profit: they are uled to trade Q3 fmall capitals, and to make their greater ope- rations rather on their credit than their ca- pital ; but in the commerce of the North nothing can be done by credit, efpecially in Ruflia, where they mult, give a year's credit in felling, and in buying pay a year before- hand, in order to trade to the beit. advantage. There are but few merchants in France m a. ftate of fufta'ming fo Jong a credit, to do Jjfolland any mifciuef by competition. The tz& TRAVELS "THROUGH The merchants of France carrv on thft American commerce with very moderate funds ; they fend oft cargoes almofl: entirely on credit, and they get eafily and quickly new funds when they have received advice of the returns being expedited, upon which they may make their aflurance. It is the fame very often with the funds of the Dutch, to whom they fend their returns on commiffion, who remit them two thirds, or three fourths of the value, with which they fupport the credit of the firft cargoes, and gain frefh credit for new ones. It is only the American commerce which gives in France that happy facility to the merchants which their capitals fo much require. Thus it is, the French merchants themielves, who contribute the moil: to maintain the Dutch, in pofTeffion of their carrying trade, and the commerce of the North, which they will preferve in the fame manner a long time, efpecially while the commerce of France with America continues flourifhing. S P A I N. THE trade with Spain is divided into two parts extremely important, that of the productions natural to Spain, which are car- ried HOLLAND. 127 tied on in the different ports of the kingdom; iiiid that of the American productions, de- pendant on Spain, which is all at Cadiz. Spain is not fo abundant as fhe ought to be in her home produce, nor fo much in Eu- rope as in America ; but me is enough fo for doubly enriching the induitrious nations, by furniihing their induftry with a great num- ber of new materials, of which lome are pe- : culiar, fuch as her wool, cochineal, &c. and alio by finding a great coniumption for the products of their induitry. The trade of Holland has fuffered fome diminution in thefe two branches of commerce with Spain, but this diminution is much more fenfible in the laft. The competition in the firft part of the Spanim commerce is, on the part of France, England, and the Hanfe Towns, infinitely Increased. The Dutch have, befides, loft the advantage of carrying on this commerce with their own manufactures ; they have been obliged to employ thofe of other nations, and to make an oeconomical commerce of raw materials, inftead of working them up, as they did heretofore ; this branch is never- thelefs very rich (till. • The clandestine commerce between the Colonies in America is at prefent almoft . . entirely *** TRAVELS THROUGH entirely in the hands of the En glim, bjf means of their eflabliihments in the ifles of Jamaica and Providence, and by their inter? courfe with the Spanifh" Colonies is become extremely eafy, and alfo by the eftablifh- ments which have been granted them by the lafl treaty of peace, in Florida, Campeachy, and Honduras ; infomuch that that nation makes at prefent, by Spanifh America, half as much as' the commerce which all Europe heretofore carried on by way of Cadiz. It is very difficult to re-eilablim this rich and Important commerce, in which the Dutch had fo large a part in its antient ftate ; the merchants of Holland can only make ufelefs complaints, like thole of all other induflrious nations of Europe, equally interefted in the dcclenfion of the American commerce at Cadiz. But if it is difficult to flop the abufes of clandeftine commerce with New Spain, fb prejudicial to the legitimate commerce of all the nations of Europe, it is, perhaps, more difficult ftill, to prevent an entire conqueft of that part of America, which has great reafon to fear the forces of the Englifh Co- lonies of North America, united with the Mother Country. The taking of Louif- brugh, by provincial troops, in 1746, was the HOLLAND. i99 the firft efiay of the natural forces of New- England; r,nd the Eriglijh Colonies of North America have, without ceaiing, lince that time, extended their population, their in- duflry, their commerce, and their marine. The cities of Boflon and Philadelphia have, alone, more than two thoufand mips at lea ; and they are at the iame time infinitely for- tified by a great number of regular troops, which England maintains among them : we may eaiily forefee, that thele Colonies will, one day, form enterprises mora tended, and more rich, with equal fuccefs. The conquefts of Mexico and Peru would not preient, perhaps at this time., raoiv dif- ficulties than conquering Lqiiiflburgh ; but would be of much greater importance, both to the Engliih and to Europe ; and weihould fear that the actual iituation of their com- merce, and their maritime force, would enable them to perpetuate thio ruinous fi.pe- riority, without the project being four, .J in the fvltem of their ment. The Enoliili Colonies in North America have at preient more Shipping than England it:elf had at the beginning of the laft century. All their natural productions, if we except the materials proper for the couftrufiion of ihips, are the fame as thole of England ; and Vol. T. K thefe l3o TRAVELS THROUGH thefe Colonies being given to manufactures* and with liberty of navigation on the Euro- pean feas, are come to be in commerce a rival nation to the European Englifh. The trade of peltry, and the materials for fhip building, with the coniiimption of ma- nufactures, do not indemnify England for the prejudice which arifes from a competi- tion already very mifchievous, and which cannot fail of increaling ; for, on one hand, the manufactures which are carried into the Colonies ; and on the other, the degree in which they extend their population and their agriculture : they fend into Eu- rope a great quantity of rice and corn, &c. which come in competition with the Englifh corn in all the markets of England. Both European and American Englifh, have equally a great intereft in putting a ltop to the effects of that competition, or to in- demnify themlelves by other branches of commerce. The European Englifh have, above all, a particular intereit in opening new markets for their manufactures, of which the confumption has ceafed to in- crease in Europe. The lale to the Weft Indies, by the clandeftine commerce, al- though very c'onfiderable, is not iufficient to make amends for the diminution of the con- fumption Holland. 13r fumption of Europe, which is owing to the exceihve deamels of labour, and the neceflity of iupporting the weight of the public debt, will not allow a change. Motives, lb interefting to a commercial and warlike nation, with forces lb coniiaera- ble, both in Europe and America, ought to make Spain fearful of loiing one day or other the riches of the Wed: Indies ; and other na- tions of being deprived of the part which they take of thole riches by a legal indiiitrv. A nation that iuitains and authorises for lb great a number of years, a clandeftine com- merce, at the expence of all the induftrious part of Europe, will allow us to believe, that lhe would equally legitimate in her eves a violent uiurpation, which me might honour with the title of conqueft. We may regard the commerce of Europe as menaced with this revolution, if Spain does not fortify her Colonies with care, if me does not render accefs to them infinitely difficult, and if me does not meet with a powerful affiftance on the part of other nations, in cafe of an attack. It is thus, that the commerce of the Dutch by Cadiz to the Weft Indies, is extremely de- clined, from the clandeftine trade of the En-. gliih in America ; and will perjiaps be one day entirely ruined. K 2 POR. l32 TRAVELS THROUGH PORTUGAL. THE firft. and principal branch of this commerce has been fince 1 703 in the hands of the Englifh : it confifts of the importation of woollen manufactures, which no nation but England has fent in any quantities to Portugal : this has rendered the Englifh al- moit entirely maimers of the trade of Brazil, which was given them, in the treaty made by Mr. Methuen with the crown of Por- tugal in 1 703 ; it has constantly brought in a balance every year in favour of England of five hundred thoufand pounds : a balance fo great drawn from Portu gal by one iingle nation , has left to others but a very moderate com- merce with that kingdom. The exportation of corn to Portugal was a very important object, to the Dutch, but the Colonies of New-England have, for fome years laft part, carried great quantities thither of as good a quality as that of Europe, and at a much lower price. I T A L Y. THE Dutch have a very great trade to Italy ; it is a capital market for their mer- chandize HOLLAND.. 133 chandize of the Indies, of America, and of their fifiieries ; and for almoft all the mer- chandize which they import from Germany and the North. This trade is principally carried on by the ports of Genoa, Leghorn, Venice, Naples, and Meflina: thefe five places are the magazines of all the merchandize which the reft of Italy furnimes to foreign countries, and of that which they receive in return. This country has been the original of all the filk manufactures in Europe ; but the French have rivalled the Italians with great fuccefs. The manufacturers of Lyons, who fend to Italy every year an immenfe quantity of their fluffs, efpecially rich ones, mew plainly the decleniion of the manufactures of Italy. Ordinary filks are made at London ; alio at Berlin, Vienna, in Denmark, in Hol- land, in France, and at Lyons. Almoft every where there are filk manufactures, where the mechanical part of the common bufinefs is as perfect as at Lyons. At London the blue is finer than any where elfe ; and the black is verv fiiperior; the workmen there are alfo better paid, better furniihed with every thing, better watched, and are more equal in their chain, and fimfh better every thing they make. Without entering into K 3 infinite 154 TRAVELS THROUGH infinite detail, when we compare the iub- france of iturrs and the beauty of colour, or black fatins in general, with thole of Eng- land, we cannot helitate in the choice, if there is not a great difference in the price. Many of the iiiks of England are incontel- tiblv finer than thole of any other manufac- ture, but others are preferred, L . they are cheaper. — The articles of genius, t^ile, and art, are difipiayed at Lyons, in all their riches ; and the merchants of that city know how to make the moil -of the fruits of their infantry, exhibiting their fabrics particu* larly in all Courts ; for Lyons is the manu* facture of all the Courts of Europe. The LEVA N T. THIS commerce has been a long time the firft and richeif. branch of the trade of Europe : it is to this branch of commerce that we owe the mulberry trees, fiik and manufactures of iilk, and the birth of almoil all the ufeful and agreeable arts that we enjoy. The benefits received from the Levant trade, like that of Ruffia and the Eail Indies, conlift in the returns, particularly for thole nations whe are able to export clotiis ; tar this HOLLAND. 135 this is the only article of exportation made bv the merchants to the Levant, that is trulv rich and beneficial to themielves, and to thole nations that fabricate them. The Le- vant was aceuftomed only to the Venetian cloths, when the En glim, French, and Dutch entered into a competition with the Venetians ; and as fafhion took very little with the Levantines, thefe three nations gave their hrft attention to imitate the Ve- netian manufacture : thefe cloths were imi- tated very promptly in England, France, and Holland ; and this imitation was, after the difcovery of the new route to the Eali: Indies, the moll: fatal ftroke to the commerce of Venice. This branch, the molt precious of the Levant commerce, is almoft entirelv loft by the Dutch ; a decline which they have met with in common with England. It is uniformly the effect of the high price of la- bour, which has for a great number of years railed the prices of the manufactures of both England and Holland. England, always employed in the care of extending and prelerving her commerce, has taken all poflible precautions for prelerving the iale of cloths in the Levant ; except thole which could alone revive this branch of commerce, which was to carry them as K 4 cheap t;5 TRAVELS THROUGH or cheaper to market than thole of Fran The French have added to a greater cheap- fiefs of their cloths, a more proper conduct for infaririg and perpetuating; the fale, by iiibmittmg the commerce to regulations ex- tremely wife, concerning the {ale of the goods in the Levant, and their manufacture in Languedoc. They diftinguifh in the (ale of cloths, in the Levant, the free ports, from thole which are not ; that is to fay, they diiiinguifli the market, where the cloth is fold in retale to be conlumed in the place, from thofe where the bales of drapery are diipofed of by whoHale, in truck for merchandize, or for being exported : in the hhiT, as at Cairo and "Conftantinople, where this conlumption is limited, the retailers, from the example of thofe of Europe, afk an equal price to 1 e rve them , as a rule ; from whence came the French re- gulations, which have prefcribed fixed prices, and they alio judge, that this rule may in other ports be ill placed, and burthenlbme to the trade ; they judge, by the local cir- cumitances of the commerce, that it is ne- cefiary to unite the French merchants, for felling, to the men, who are themfelves united and leagued for buving. Without the ailifbnce of regulations, there would often HOLLAND. 137 often be, between the merchants of neigh- bouring ports, a competition, which would, like a civil war, be mifchievousto all. It is to thefe regulations, (which the com- merce particularly demanded), and to the cheapnefs of the cloths, that the French owe the profperity of their commerce to the Le- vant, and the fuperiority which they have acquired over all other nations. They have, beiicles the advantage of afibrtiog in their exports three articles, which are become of infinite confequence in this commerce, viz. fugar, the coffee of Martinico, and indigo. Marfeilles, which is the only magazine in France for the Levant commerce, draws thefe three articles from the nrfr. hand, and the conlumption of fugar, and coffee of Martinico, is prodigiouiTy extended in the Levant. Independantly of their dried fruits, the Levantines are come to ufe much fugar in their coffee, and to mix the coffee of Martinico with that which they draw at pre- fent from Arabia by the caravans ; infomuch that there is fcarcely finding any coffee of Mocha in the markets of the Levant, that is not mixed with that of Martinico. It has been proved, by a ffate taken from the regifters in the Chancery of France, and by thole of the cufloms fent to the French Miniffers i :t TRAVELS THROUGH Ministers in 1750, that from the epocha of the French regulations, the total of their s augmented cc: ibly ; that thofe of the Englilh, which were but one year be- the regulations 2200 bales, was found t be reduced to jlco bales, and fometimes I:.'- ; that iince this epocha, the Englilh have : fold in twenty-five years more than 8700 bales, often, twelve, 01 :. half pieces; while the French, in the lame period, fold 43,3^2 bales, often or twelve half pieces. Notwithitanding two acls of parliament for flopping this decreaie in England, itill it continued ; and the Englilh have no means ot regaining a iuperiority, or even ■ a competition, but by a low price of lat 3ur in their manufactures, which is verv difficult to procure. The Dutch are under ■ fame difadvantage as the Englilh in this commerce, in refpect or their cloth manu- :ures, fince they are nine or ten per cent, dearer than thofe of France ; and it would be :c rncult for them to lower the pri: a cheaper rate of labour. But the Dutch have not the fame realons of politics or jealoufy, as the Englilh, which will not permit them to carry on their commerce with the Enanufa&ured fluffs of foreigners. T HOLLAND. is) The trade of Holland appropriates to itfelf the manufactures of every nation known, and generally employs, with an entire liberty, the productions of induftry of all countries. Freight and CommiJJion, &c. OF the commerce of freight, thofe of banking, commiiiion, and inlurance, are branches of the Republic's trade the moft iblidly rich ; but particularly thofe of freight and commiiiion, which two are always fare and privileged, and accompanied with norifks ; but thefe branches have, at the fame time, their fource uniformly in the aggregate of all the other branches of commerce in the State ; infomuch that their decreafe, their in- creale and prefervation, depends entirely on, and varies according as the general trade in the ftate more or lefs flouriihes. We muft therefore regard all the other branches of the Dutch commerce as fo many canals, which carry into the heart of the Republic, the aliment of freight and commiiiion, bank- ing and insurance ; which enriches at the fame time a thouiand brokers, and furnifties a thouiand means of iubiiftence to a numerous people, Thefe are the true and moft iblid riches, i4o TRAVELS THROUGH riches, which refult from a great cccouGmi- cal commerce, inch as that of Holland. Navigation is, without contradiction, the principle of a great power and what ought to be more interefring to humanity, it is the fource of a great commerce ; the nation who poiTeiles it multiplies on eourfe its (hips, in proportion to it ; and practice always brings this advantage, that their failors become more hardy, and navigate more fecurely, than thoie of other nations ; for which rea- ion fuch a nation employs fewer men, and can make the tranfport of commodities at a cheaper rate than others. A commercial nation draws to it all the materials neceffary for conftiucting mips, feamen, and all forts of workmen acceffary for, or that concern the marine. It is thus that Holland has infinitely augmented her population at the expence of other nations ; it is thus that a navigating nation may de~ itroy the fhipping of other nations, or pre- vent their railing any ; it is in this refpect the fame as with other nations in manuiaclures. They are the fame conlequences flowing from the fame principles in two different objects : but navigation has a much itronger influence than the other, in railing a political power; for manufactures can only draw riches H O L L A N D. 141 s to a ftate ; but navigation, befides the riches it procures, gives, a real force to the irate : it is, at the lame time, very difficult tor nations, who excel, or who predominate in the arts of manu facluring, to prevent other nations from eilablilhing the like among themfelves by the lame induftry. But it is very eafy for a nation, who reigns upon the fea, to prevent any other nation from becoming {o powerful on it as to rival them thereon. The principal end, which ought to be the aim of all nations who navigate, is to con- ifruct perfect: mips, and to raife good failors, and alfo to build them cheaper than other nations. Holland enjoyed for a long time thele two advantages ; the firit , as far as the fituation of its ports would admit ; and the iecond, from the low price of labour, and by- procuring with great oeconomy the mate- rials at the firit. hand. The commerce of freight is principally maintained by that general ceconomical trade, which makes Holland the general magazine of merchandize from all parts of the world. We are not nevertheleis to believe, that the Dutch navigation is carried on totallv for their own account ; or that their commerce uniformly coniifts in going to buy t; mer- chandize i42 TRAVELS THROUGH chandize of Southern nations, to form aflbrtv incuts for the North ; or from the North, to form thofe for the South ; but it is by this commerce that the Dutch have formed a ge- neral magazine ; and this being once gained, Holland was immediately regarded as the firft market in Europe ; and it gave birth to another branch, infinitely precious, and which equally produced the means Gi liibiilt- ing the people, and much extended the com- merce of freight. This market, being re- garded by the merchants of all other nations, as that where they could, with mo ft eafe and mod: convenience, lell or buy all lorts of merchandize, has given to the Dutch a commerce of commiiiion very exteniive ; in- iomuch that a great part of the merchandize, which is brought at prclent to Holland bv Dutch mips, is for the account of foreigners, and exported for the lame : and a great part of the commerce of Holland conlifts in [ ing and lelling for the account of others. Of the Progrefs and Decrease of Commerce. THE different branches of commerce, which coniift in the emplovment of lhips, and making iales and purchases on the ac- count ot all the merchants of Europe, and making HOLLAND. 143 nuking the circulation of a great credit, and an immenfe lum or paper, always accompa- nied by the benefits of brokerage, &c. and the iniurances have, as we have obferved, for their foundation, all the other branches of the commerce of the. Republic. Thus as the universality of commerce in the ftate, is more or lels nourifhing, to alio are the parti- cular branches which depend upon it. We may nevertheleis oblerve, that thele branches of the commerce cf Holland, have not their proiperity founded in the benefits ariiino- from other branches, but uniformlv from the volume of merchandize which fills the general national magazine. It is not of much confequence to thefe branches, that the merchants buy and fell with little or much profit, but it infinitely imports them, that the merchants keep in the magazines of Holland, always in the fame degree of abun- dance, the aflbrtments of all the merchandize of the four parts of the world ; and that the oeconomical commerce always fuftains the reputation which it has given to Holland, of being the firlt market in Europe. But ir' the decreaie of the other branches of com- merce diminilh, the amount of the maga- zines in this article, it mult necefYarilv fol- low, that the commerce of freight, of .com- million, i44 TRAVELS THROUGH mimon, of banking and infurance, mull di- minilh in proportion. Since the act of navigation in England, we mav obferve a decreafe in the commerce of Holland ; but a decreafe, perhaps, too trifling to attract the immediate attention of the go- vernment. This decreaie has had two caufes, mdependantly of the act of navigation ; one of which might have been eahlv forefeen, or perhaps prevented ; and the effects of the other have been coniiderably weakened. The wars, which have happened fince that time, and the progrels of the general know- ledge of commerce, which has without ceafing extended itfelf through all other na- tions, and mull: neceffarily diminiiTi the trade of the Dutch. The wars terminated by the treaties of Nimeguen, Ryiwick, and Utrecht ; and laftly, by the Jail treaty of Aix la Chapelle, have fucceilively obliged the Republic to make uie of a vail credit, in borrowing enor- moufly to iuftain the expence : thefe debts have burthen ed the ftate with an immenfe fum in intereft, which could not be paid but by augmenting tIv the imports, which have Fallen, for much t. :eft part of them, on the conlumption of a country whole limits are extremely bounded, and conlequently HOLLAND. i4>- confequently upon induftry. This has ren- dered labour infinitely dear ; this dearnefs of labour has not only retrained almoft all the manufactures and induftry, for interior con- fumption, but it has alfo given a fenfible ftroke to the commerce of freight, an ac- ceiTary part, and the molt precious of the commerce of ceconomy : it has rendered (hip-building dearer, augmented the prices of ail the work- on which navigation de- pends, and likewife all that of the ports and magazines. It could not be poilible then to augment the price of labour without giving, in ipite of every effort of the ceconomical Dutch, a fenfible advantage to other nations, who would raife a trade in freight, and of buying and felling. The fecond caufe of the decreafe of the commerce of Holland has made as rapid a progrefs, and continues to make it in our days. Its Company of the Indies has loft infinite advantages by the eftabliihment of thofe of England, France, Denmark, and Sweden ; but it is in particular the competi- tion of that of England which has done her the moll: hurt. All other nations now aim at carrying on a commerce thither directly ; and the nations, heretofore the leaft commer- cial in Europe, have almoft arrived at this Vol. I. L point. 146 TRAVELS THROUGH point. The ports of the Baltic, and the ci- ties of Germany, carry on, as far as it is poi- fible, their trade direiftly with the South of Europe ; and increafe every day a competi- tion with the Dutch, in their buying and felling trade. Each nation endeavours to have as much commerce as it can, and none but what gain fome increaie at the expence of that of Holland. Neverthelefs this general induftry might well be allowed to reftrain the trade of Hol- land ; but fome wanted to extend it to her en- tire deftruction. Her returns from the Eaft Indies and America, joined with her fiihery, place her in a condition of forming alTort- ments, which would always give her a decifive fuperiority over the Hanfe Towns, who never can procure themfelves equal ad- vantages ; and this fuperiority would be greater yet, if the Republic gave a new at- tention to her Colonies in America. If their improvement was well conducted, their pro- ductions might be extended to replace, to the total of their commerce, a part of the dimi- nution it has undergone It is one of the moil: precious branches of the Dutch trade, and merits more than the precarious atten- tion it has met with. If HOLLAND. 147 If we oblerve with attention the actual progrefs of indufhy among all the nations of Europe, we mall lee it happen,^ and perhaps fpeedily, that all nations will have a natural commerce, and a degree of power, propor- tioned to the riches of that commerce, nearly- relative to the extent and nature of ther ter- ritory which each nation poflefles, whether in Europe or America. The territorial riches are the true riches of the frate ; and the government, which applies the national indufhy to give them all the value they are capable of, is that which will give the ftate a power the mod folidly fixed. It is this principally which ought to render the Dutch more precious of their American Colonies. It is only in America that Holland can gain the advantages of a territorial power. Commerce does not at prefent afford to any nation in Europe the legitimate means of acquiring great riches from any thing but its territory, or from new difcoveries. Thefe are, without doubt, difficult, but they are not invincible to modern induftry. It is certain, that there frill remain to be made in the interior parts of Africa, in Ame- rica, and in the Terra Auftralis, difcoveries, which, though they have been often fruit- lefsly attempted, might yet be made with the greatefl fuccefs. L z Tie ,43 TRAVELS THROUGH The Whale Ffiery. VARIOUS have been the placarts pub- lished by the States for the regulation of this fifhery, which was once entirely in the hands of a Company, but it was at laft thrown into the moft advantageous fyftem that could be deviled, and great luccels has been the confluence. The Dutch fend every j ear two hundred and fifty fhips from Ara- fterdam, Rotterdam, Sardam, and Horn, and the confequence of it tempts a great many i more. Befides the hazards of the lea, which are great, there are others which render the fifhery often very unfruitful to a great num- ber of fhips. There are fome that catch five whales, and others, who are forced to return with only one ; a return which does not pay • expences. The fhips deftined for this fifhery are • from two to three hundred tons, and the crews proportioned to the number of cha- loups which each veffel takes to fearch for the wThales and harpoon them ; each fhip has • four, five, fix, or feven chaloups, and to ■ each chaloup fix or feven men : befides the • fhips which go only for the fifhery, there are -every year twenty -five or thirty imall mips, from HOLLAND. 149 from 50 to 70 tons, who go at the fame time for trading upon the coafts with the lavages, exchanging axes, hatchets, pots, &c. for ikins and furs. But the benefits arifing from the whale fifhery are much diminifhed by the competition of the Hamburghers, Danes, and Swedes. In 1765 only 190 mips were fent, inflead of 250 formerly. Art has given for fome years a fmall encouragement to it, by employing the fpermaceti, inftead of wax, for candles. This part of the whale, which finds but a very moderate confumption in pharmacy, is at prefent dearer. The Herring Fi/hery,. THIS fifhery has been the cradle of the Dutch marine, and the firft fource of the riches of her commerce. The herring fifhery has been a long time the moll; con- siderable branch of the commerce of Hol- land : it was therefore called the Golden Mine of the Republic, and the Great Fifhery, to diftinguifh it from that of the whale, which was not comparable to it. M. de Wit, in writing on this fifhery, afierts, that there fubfifted upon it four hundred and fifty thoufand perfons. It has been repeated, after M. de Wit, in all the writings that L 3 have 150 TRAVELS THROUGH have appeared on the commerce of Holland, that the nfhery brought in every year fixty- fix millions of florins. Thofe who have confidered the actual ftate of this fiftiery, look upon this valuation as a very great ex- aggeration ; and it is one in effect, if we were -to believe, that it amounted to 60 or jo millions, divided among all thofe inte- refted in the fifhery, whether merchants, &c. or common nfhermen. But it is not the fame, if we would eftimate the means of fubfiftance which the fifhery ipreads through the Republic, and the utility which this material gives to the different branches of its commerce : this :s the true light in which it lhould be viewed for valuing it properly, and cultivating the real amount of it to the ftate. In this method we (hall find, that the eftimation of (o many millions is not per- haps too exceffive at prefent, although the filhery is infinitely decrealed. There are at prefent 2000 bufTes of all na- tions employed in this nfhery ; thofe of Holland are more numerous than any other, but they do not exceed 1000 annually. It is a branch of commerce that has loft many of its advantages by the competition of France and England."* General . — 1 — 1 , ■ ■* * Le Commerce de la Hollar.de. Tom. 1 & 2. f H O L i A N D. ijf General Obfervations. IN England, we have been amufed with {o many accounts of the Dutch commerce in dictionaries, treatifes, and political pam- phlets, three fourths of which are copied from one another, until the full intelligence is in feveral inftances one hundred and fifty years old, that any perfon ufed to commercial reading can hardly fail of being difgufted at it : this great fault in our authors is carried to fuch a pitch, that we have new books every day publifhed, concerning Holland, which take the accounts from Raleigh and de Wit, and other writers as antient, for their guides in the prefent ftate of its trade, &c. The truth is, the Dutch commerce is much changed iince the beft writers flou- rifhed, who are known in England ; and it is the bufinefs of a perfon, who travels through a country with any attention, to rectify the errors of thefe eternal copiers, by giving, as well as he is able, the prefent ftate of every thing. Five hundred books will tell the ftate of Holland in the year 1600, but I want to inform the reader how matters are in 1768. Whatever comes within the fphere of dired obfervation I fo explain ; and L 4 what i5 J TRAVELS THROUGH what I cannot thus become acquainted with, I lav before the reader in tranflated extracts from new works, published abroad, and al- moft unknown in England ; of which, dur- ing my residence in Holland, I have heard good characters for authenticity, from per- fons ver}r underftanding in the commerce and politics of their country. But, before I quit the fubject of the trade of Holland, I have in general to remark, that there are in England two ideas common con- cerning it, both which' are very erroneous. Some imagine, that the commerce of the Republic is funk to fuch a degree, that her decline is fwift, and foretells at no long pe- riod the diffolution, or at leait. the iubjection of the ftate to a neighbouring power ; others on the contrary, who have heated their ima- ginations with the idea of the amazing com- merce, and maritime power they once rfefc feffed, will not 'readily allow the real declen- iion, which has undoubtedly come upon them ; but confider the Republic at prefent, in wealth and power, upon principles that would have been jufi through the firit. half of the laft century: few periods make due allowances for changes, nor will they rea- dily fleer a mean courfe, when extremes are lb much more dazzling and brilliant. The truth HOLLAND. 153 truth is, that the Dutch yet poffefs a very confiderable commerce : it was formerly much iuperior to that oi England, in ihip- ping, tonnage, value, and profit, but at pr;- ient much inferior in every one of thole ar- ticles, and of this there can be no doubt : it is alio a fact, that for the laft twenty years the trade of England has much increafed, whereas that of Holland has been on the de- cline, if we may believe the moil candid men among them : and, at the fame time, that England has increaied her commerce, the other powers of Europe have done the fame : the French trade indeed has not, ex- cept in a few particular branches, gained any thing ; but the Spaniards, Italians, Germans, Danes, Swedes, and Ruffians, have all ad- vanced ; and, as the author quoted above juftly obferves, at the expence of the Dutch. This general emulation in trade continues in its full force, and even encreales even- to the diminution of the Dutch carrying trade ; and I mould obferve, that the declen- fion of their commerce and manufactures has not been owing to the high rates of labour, (a point in which he is certainly miiraken) io much as to this general inirit in every country of lupplying itielf; were this en- tirely general, the Dutch commo;. woulJ j£4 TRAVELS THROUGH would fink into inanity ; there is no occafion - to have recourie to the rife of prices, while a caufe fo much more obvious and fimple equally explains it. If it is faid, that the Dutch labour is dearerthan formerly, I reply, that this proves nothing, unlefs you, at the fame time, prove that all the labour in Eu- rope is not dearer than it was formerly. This, from the encreafe of money is general; but when kingdoms and Hates are bent upon becoming trading nations, they do not en- quire into the prices of labour in Holland, but take every meaiure for lupplying them- ielvescwith thofe manufactures and products which they formerly took of foreigners. But notwithstanding theie general caufes, which have and do operate towards the de- cline of the Dutch commerce, yet that na- tion is in the exclulive poffeiiion of fome branches, which will continue them in a great trade, whatever oppoiition they may meet with : Firft, the fpice trade, which is totally theirs, without any competition, and in value amounts to between one and two millions fterling per annum; this is the only inflance of a monopoly we meet with in the world ; and I ihould not omit to remark, that it (hews the general amount of trade to be much leis than is commonly fuppofed ; for had H O L L A N ©. 155 had no fuch monopoly ever exifted, and a fuppofition of one was flated, it would be imagined more than to anfwer the purpofes of all other trades. Spice is generally ufed all over the world; and yet the profit of an abfolute and complete monopoly does not amount, we find, to two millions a year. Some writers, of no flight credit, value it at no more than one million. If we could get poffetfion exclufively of the fugar trade of the whole world, what a card would it be thought ! much more than to make amends for the lofs of others ; but the fact is, that monopolies have, in their very vitals, the principles of decay : prices mult, and ever will be fo raifed that the confumption will generally decline, and the vaft expences of preferving it will altogether reduce the pro- fit to a much fmaller ium than any one could previoufly have imagined. However, the profit of above a million to fo fmall a ftate as Holland, with the advan* tages of extending a monopoly in other branches of trade, is an object of very great importance, and cannot fail of tending very powerfully to fupport the Dutch Republic, as long as fhe is able to protect her trade. The herring fiihery is another moll: impor- tant article, of which the Dutch have fo great 15$ TRAVELS THROUGH great a ihare, as not only brings in immenle* iums to the Republic , but alio breeds them an ra v.ber of exci .ailors ; and r fame ol riott is applicable to the v'./.Ie rimer;-. ..•:ive to the maritime power of Hol- land, in which . "•" me uied to be named in ccmmon with Great Britain, it is by iome - r granted, that the pofieiiicn of very numerous mariners is the fame thing as a great naval force ; but this is an error ; the JEhitch marine is not contemptible, but, at the iame time, it is infinitely inferior to that of England, and their naval military lrores are bv no means filled in the manner they were m the laft century, when t..-y diiputed the emDire of the fea with England; indeed they are fo far declined, that give them whatever notice they may require, yet they would ne- ver" have it in their power to revive their y (6 much as to be able to race the Bri- (ifh p ver at fea; with a view to this com- - are abfolutely funk; but with a ; the maritime force of Eu- v are {till i- - it reirectable. 1 rower depends principally on the of good ie; A alio depends on toataenM built ihips, well provided, on ample {lores and magazines, on numerous dock HOLLAND. 157 dock vards, founderies, &c. and many fliip- carpenters kept in conftant employ ; all theie areasrequifiteas numerous feamen in the for- mation of a great maritime ftrength ; and the whole will occaiion ib great an expence, that very coniiderable treafures mud: be* at com- mand, or a nation will never iee a powerful navy, whatever number of laiiors me may have. The affairs however of the neighbours of Holland have, for many years, run in inch a channel, that fhe has pretty well eicaped from thofe interesting fituatibns which threatened her neutrality : while (he is able, by her negotiations, to keep neuter, the de- tention of her naval power will not have very bad confequences ; but in cafe ihe is forced to take part in a war, then indeed her neglect of the fea might prove very fatal. The confequences, in luch a caie, would de- pend on the feveral circumftances and com- binations ariflng from the part ihe took in the quarrel : if me joined France againft England, a conduct which I do not appre- hend (he would ever fall into, unleis forced to it by the French armies, her fecurity againd: the naval power of England would depend on the potency ,of the united fleets of France and Holland ; which union would be i5* TRAVELS THROUGH be fo truly unnatural, that its effects would not probably be lafling : if me joined Eng- land againfl France, her trade to the Colo- nies would be fafe, and her coafrs would be protected, however low her marine might be. But if, as is moll probable, fhe mould be able to preferve her neutrality, then her navy will fcarcely ever have any chance of being reftored to real power ; but, on the contrary, will probably decline, until it is reduced to but a fhadow of her former ma- rine. CHAP. HOLLAND. 159 CHAP. VI. Journev through North Hoi/and — The Country — Agriculture — People — Voyage by the Iflands to Harllngeti— Account of Frizeland— Leeuwarden — Dockum , &c. — Agriculture* 1LEFT Amfterdam the 25th of May, tak- ing the boat to Sardam, which lies on the other fide of the water : it is the principal- town for fhip-building in all the provinces, being noted, when the Dutch navy was in the height of its profperity, for the common, though exaggerated afTertion, that if you gave them lix months notice, they would be ready to launch a man of war every day for a year. Here are at prelent great magazines of timber, mails, yards, cordage, fails, an- chors, cannon, and every thing neceflary for building, rigging and fitting out all forts or (hips ; I counted (ixtcen large merchantmen on the flocks, but there are docks for build- ing many more at a time : but here is no great appearance of the military marine, for a man ifo TRAVELS THROUGH for a man of war careening compofed the whole fight. But it is not only tor ihip- building that this place is noted, here are many other manufactures, particularly of r, there being many paper-mills; and they affured me, it wa? the molt coniiderable paper manufactory in all Holland : it em- ploys more than 600 men, beiides women and children : the men earn, on an average, .about four florins and five ltivers a week, or near (even milling-, but fome of them much more : theie wages feem to be about equal to the fame manufacturers in England, but their living is much dearer ; this is compen- iated by the fuperior frugality * and lobri- ety of the Dutchmen, which far exceed that of our poor in England. The number of wind-mills at tjbds place is furprizing : thole for (awing timber for lhip- building, &c. are admirable contrivances, as they facilitate and cheapen work to iuch a degree, that it is much to be regretted we do not imitate them in England. The Dutch have had them at Sardam more than 130 S, in all which time they have found the immenle advantages of the practice, and yet we in England have obftinately perie- vered in keeping to the hand-law, at leap: forty tinges the expence. The only argu- ment HOLLAND, 161 ttient I have ever heard advanced in its fa- vour was, the providing employment for great numbers of lawyers, all of whom would at once be turned out of work, if mills were genearally introduced : but this is but a feeming objection ; for it is abfurd to luppofe, that fuch able-bodied men as faw- yers, could remain without work ; they would turn hewers and carpenters ; and the cheapnefs of the manufacture, occasioned by the mills, would bring lb much greater a consumption > that all the hands dependant on it would be increafed. This was found at Holland, and particularly at Sardam ; where the erecting of, faw mills increafed twenty fold the number of fhip carpenters, and which appears by authentic regifters. Here are alfo many mills for grinding dy* ing woods, and dying roots ; alio powder mills, of which there is a vaff. manufacture : thefe mills render Sardam a very conlidera- ble place ; and their ftructure is fo curious, that a ftran^er will find no where in Hoi- land more entertainment, or ftronger mo- tives for reflection on the vail induftry of the Dutch ; or on the great benefit of their fru- gality and contrivance in manufactures, than in this village. Vol. I, M From |C2 TRAVELS THROUGH From Sardam I returned bv water to bout noon, deiig::ing to make the com ur of the imall province of North Holland, to which I had been much advifed Dutch gentlemen, who aflured me, that I mould :: :ral objects in that track, highly worth feeisg, though it was generally n: I by travellers. From this village I took the boat to Monikedam, through a country, part of it extremely :::ig, and the meadows and paftures near it, appeared to be very rich, and excellently dykes, gates, bridges, and rows of trees, with the regularity; and neat- nefs of the canal, are all highly finifhed in the bell: . :. The neatnels and pleating cleanlinefs of the town was inch, that I de- .ined to fray the night, initead of going on to Eidam, which is the next i/tage on the canal. I walked through every part of the i, to admire the cleanlineis of the peo- ple, which much exceed sany thing I had feen in South Holland : this retired corner of the war! c eleaped the taint of fo- n examples. My accommodation was at, but paflable, and rather cheap; ;eellent V.h of fifh, and a bottle of claret, for about four milling Eiiglim ; . * ::.ands 0:1 the lea. I en- quired HOLLAND. \S$ quired the price of lome meadows near the town, and I found they would, if let, bring in very near four pounds an acre Engliih. I was in the treckichuyt for Eidam by eight: o'clock in the morning of the 26th, and ar- rived thither in a little more than an hour. I am quite reconciled to this mode of tra- velling in company ; at firft it was diiagrc-e- able through a want of cuflom, and it cer- tainly would be conhVantly fo in England ; but among foreigners, it is much better. This pluce alio frauds on the fea : there is nothing, except the neatnets of the inhabi- tants, that is worth obfervation in the town ; but in the environs, there is much that calls for attention. The neighbourhood is moftly called Purmerend, that is the name of a lake, which was here formerly, but is now all drained to the circular extent of more than twenty miles circumferance: there are other instances of this kind of excellent hufbandry in North Holland. I fpent the whole morning in taking along walk of fome miles to the rich meadows, which were once co- vered with water ; I put many queflions to the peaiants, and met with much ufeful in- formation. Among other particulars, thev informed me, that the foil, which indeed I found by viewing the dykes, was a rich M 2 blacky 1$4 TRAVELS THROUGH blacky loam; compofed, to appearance, fand and clav, but more like a (lime fettl the grafs is admirably rich, but full of We and here let me rema/k, that none of the Dutch, I have yet met with, feem to have my notion of true, well bid meadows : the luxuriance of the herbage feems alone to be attended to ; a great lwarth of hay, as I have heard the mowers In England talk oi. will find here ; that is, a multiplicity ot weeds ; ibme of them rank and large, which much offends the eye : yet thefe meadows let at from 40s. to 5I. an acre Englifh. it fertility (hew what is to . from drained lakes ; we have no inftaiv: this in Britain ; yet the meres in Huntingdon and Cambridgfhires, and the lakes in Scot- land, would furely admit of this culture richnefs of the foil may be much better judged oi by the fize and fatnefs of the cat- tle, than by the herbage : larger cows and fheer 1 I erer met with : they feem to be the breed, which in England they call the Hol- dernefs cow; and the fheep much refer thole of the marines m Lincolnshire, but 1 think are rathe* larger. I was informed, kenfe cows give about four or gallons (Engliih) of milk in a day, at the morning and evening milking ; however HOLLAND. iS$ however they reckon a good cow ; and (he pays, in the famous North Holland cheefe and butter, about eight pounds fterling an- nually. The cheefe is well known at the polite tables in England, as well as Parme- fan ; but I muft freely own, I think, our North Wiltfhire is beyond comparrifon iupe- rior : befides, the Dutch eat it too new. Here I muft remark, that the products of their cows much furprized me': I have cows of my own in England of no handfome ap- pearance, which much exceed thefe famous ones in Holland, in the quantity of milk they vield, although their pafture is not to be compared to this of Holland : I know not what to attribute this to, unlets to the bad- nefs of the herbage in this province : But notwithftanding this inferiority, a Dutch boor, with 50 or 60 acres Engliih, will ma- nage to live as well, or better than an En- gliih farmer with 200 hundred acres : this is owing to frugality, and the fpirit of neat- nefs ; in fome inftances the laater may feem to be expenfive, but the laving in others much more than makes amends; this neatnefs and cleanlinefs is not only (hewn in the houfe and furniture, but in all the farming offices ; lo that all the cattle, though brought up only to milk, are M 3 ranged |M TRAVELS THROUGH [y in a cow ftall, :lean as lour ; if I round this in May, I can ealily conceive it : t.\ (aoac ill in this manner tends v. and at the ae time, it raiies manure, of which Dutch farmers well know the value. All the tc :'.- and in of hulb: :.iele boors keep in the moit exact order ; t ipades, fhcvels, forks* appear like houihoiu : :.::; imentj ; their waggon; tantly clean as our chariots; and this : ?f pleanlinefs is carried th rough every thing: npw it rrruft be allowed, that the hman I pre time for his neat- m other country peaiants do for their flavei ; but, it aniwers very greatly to q ; :. .- there is much rence in the :id of tool, kept quite d r, or dirty and expoled to all .deb gn .rence I con- clude, that no time is better lpent than .1 neatnels and cleanli- L the parts ot huibandry . ': quite ration al in Holland, - rn its appearance equallv in all The fanners do not (hew it in th bents, and their cattle, \d tfc t anks of HOLLAND. 167 their ditches, their dykes, their walls, pales, hedges, &c. whatever the fence is, you are lure to find it in exact order ; and in all pub- lic works it is equally confpicuous ; the ca- nals, bridges, dykes, &c. are all in admirable repair. From Eidam I went out of my way to Purmerend, in order to fee in that neighbour- hood a famous drained country, once a great- lake, called the Beemfter. 1 went by the canal, being juft two hours in the boat. The lake was drained in the year 1712, the whole work being completely finiihed in four years. The track of land contains 10,000 acres, of which 7000 are profitable meadow, orchard, or garden ; the remaining 3000 compofe villages, roads, dykes, canals, drains, &c. It is upon the whole one of the greateit curiofities in the United Provinces ; the appearance is as beautiful as that of a dead flat can be ; the foil is wonderfully fer- tile ; the verdure fine ; the fences perfectly neat ; the rows of trees, the orchards, and the gardens numerous, and thriving ; vail herds of exceeding: fine cattle are ieen in every part of it; upon the whole, the view Qf the country diiptays, in every particular, the mark of wealth in the inhabitants; and S righer ipot is hardly to be icQii. The rents M 4 are i58 TRAVELS THROUGH are very high, but the fertility of the foil merits it ; for here are many meadows that will more than feed a large cow per acre, through all the fummer, and fupport her in great plenty. The view I took of this, fur- . prized me in another particular ; I thought the country appeared well flocked with horned cattle, conhdering there is very little arable land in it, for raifing winter provi- sions ; but they informed me, that the dif- temper among their cattle, which had con- tinued many years, had thinned them much ; and made all the farmers very cautious in buying, and backward in laying in large flocks. They carry on a great trade in lean beafls with Denmark and Holftein ; but the diftemper having made great ravages through thofe countries, the price was not only much railed, but great hazards remained of buying infected beails; beiides which, the States had laid great interruptions on the importation, on account of the diftemper ; for which rea- fons they informed me, the country was far Underflocked in horned cattle ; and that they had, inilead of them, gone into keeping fheep much more than formerly. 1 made enquiries concerning the comparative profit between them ; and they generally agreed, that HOLLAND. i6» that the murrain excepted, cows and beads paid them much the be.ft. From Purmerend I took boat to Hoorn the 27th in the afternoon. It is a considera- ble feaport, with a much better harbour than Amsterdam, or any other place on the Zuy- der Sea ; and it pofleifes more trade than I expected to find fo near that capital. Its her- ring flfhery is very confiderable. I made frefh enquiries here concerning it ; and they agreed in their accounts, that it was vaflly declined from the competition of other na- tions, but particularly the French. Moft of the cheele, and other produce of North Hol- land, is exported from this place. Hoorn being once almofl deflroyed by a bank break- ing, and letting in the lea, that element is now fenced out with one of the vaftefl banks I have any where feen in Holland ; it is much worth viewing. My accommodation at this place was but indifferent, and the expences extravagant ; but I have obferved, that the Dutch landlords make hardly any difference in their reckoning between good fare and bad ; travellers therefore fhould order the belt of every thing, as they will have them nearly as cheap as the worft . From Hoorn to Enkhuvfen, as I diiliked a b<£*t by fea, I enquired for another con- veyance, i;3 TRAVELS THROUGH ce, but there was nothing but a ftage- waggon, lo I fent my baggage by it, and walked. The road leads through a flat, rich _adow, all the way much interfected with I nals and dyke?. I obferved, the country villagers kept their cottages as clean as in any part of Holland, and indeed it extends to iuch a degree of nicety, as to be perfectly rertaining to view them ; this minute at- ltioti extends beyond their houfes ; all its environs are the lame : in any little offices, or huts, the garden, the fences, the pales, th; :x. and every thing you are fu re to find in excellent order. The employment of the poor Teemed to be principally net- making for the herring fimery ; which, however it may be declined, yet employs a vail: number of their poor. I made enquiry intothe benefit it was of to the father of a fa- milv, by going in the buffes ; and I found, that in pay, allowance, and herrings, it equalled twelve millings a week of our mo- ney. I took up my quarters at The Artillery Yard at Enkhuyfen. It is a town almoit. in fea, being nearly furrounded by it; but ^.vhich it is defended, like Hoorn, by : canals bring imal'l vefiels into mfcf n. It is a well built town, and HOLLAND. 171 and very clean ; many of the houfes large and handfome, and the Stadthoufe is a conii- derable edifice. Their trade is moftly in the herring fimery ; but they catch large quan^ titles of fait fifh, and they export much of the produce of the country adjoining; be- sides thefe articles, they carry on a good trade to the Baltic, and build many mips ; 10 that altogether, it is a place of confiderabie bu- fmefs, and the merchants are rich. To Medenblick is eight miles more : I walked alfo, for the lame reafon as before. This is but an iniignificant place ; and my inn, The City of Hoorn, a bad one ; yet. be- ing much tired with a walk of 16 miles, I ftaid the night of the 28th. They have a ihare of the Baltic trade here. The whole country is as rich meadow-land as can well be conceived ; it is much divided into little portions, the properties of diflincl perfons ; but ibme of it that is let, yields at the rate of from three to four pounds Englifh per acre ; but this is particular pieces. There is much cattle, notwithfianding their dread of the diftemper, beiides great numbers of very large fheep. As my delign was to pafs over to Frizeland from the very Northern point of Holland, taking the Iflands in my way, but at the fame time to fee Aikmaar, and i - : T R A V E L S THROUG H the cc . r, I found it Decenary to do th l; but J was again puzzled, as the treckichuyt goes only bv He or::, there being only a waggon di- loclly from Medenblick to All a the ippearance icieut, I kned once more to t^ke to rnv legs ; and. though the durance is no lels i feventeen miles, to m.ike it a day's jour- ney on foot. I lent my baggage by a Dutch fcippec to He! nin the X :::':.■: ::: point of Holland, a little fining town, to remain till I came :;::n Ahkneaar. The countrv through which I palled, once con- incmally of lakes, but. like the Beem- fter, they hare been . end now £ an excellent appearance, being all cur into rich meadows, and hardly an acre in the whole track loft. All the canals and j are planted with rows of trees, of which, i: ai "--- li a many. The : ■■ ill - . • well peopled, and all of them carry that agreeable neatueis and good order, which would alone make travel- ling in Holland wc a Lie. T he pen and ch were principally em- :;. At B .11, a is r.bout half way, I waited a: an inn, which in E igland would be II O L L A N D. i;3 be called a hedge alehoufe ; but T remarked, that the houfe, arid all the furniture, were as clean as in any other. Cleanlinefs is the characteristic of the people, eipecially of the lower ones. I got to Alkmaar in the evening of the 29th, and fixed at the City of Amfterdam inn, where I met with extreme good enter- tainment, and much civility. This city is as well Situated, respecting beauty, as any one can be in a country perfectly flat ; it is Surrounded by a great number of gardens, orchards, and rich meadows : verv near it. they fhow a grove, which would make a figure in the beft regular garden in England; it is beautiful. The Streets of this city are regular, and well built, but the churches, and other public buildings, have not any thing very ftriking in them. Upon enquiry, I found there was neither treckfehuyt, nor chaife, nor waggon to Helder ; I was there- fore again obliged to determine on a walk, and this was to be a long one, for the dis- tance is 23 miles ; for the firft feven, I got two horfes for myfelf and man, but no of- feis of money could tempt the owner to al- low me to have them on, becaufe he had buft- nefs another way. The country is all thickly Strewed with villages, and is exceeding rich meadow J?4 TRAVELS THROUGH meadow land. Every houfe I faw has a gar- den, which the boors all cultivate extremely well ; net-making goes on throughout this country. The number of their poor, which the Dutch maintain by their herring fifhery, is very coniiderable, and mould make us, on whole coafts they go to hTn, more attentive to reap advantages, which nature has laid at our doors. Our poor rates, in vail tracks of the country, run extremely high, and in others, our poor areftarving for want of em- ployment ; while our more induftrious and meritorious neighbours maintain themfelves on our filh, and have the trouble of going 200 leagues to catch, that which we might take in our own harbours. The whole circle of European politics does not offer a more finking inftance of fupinenels. The infinite advantages, which would attend the eftabliihment of a great herring fiihery in fome of the Weflern iiles of Scotland, that are the baft iituated for the bufmefs, ought to engage our government to act with more vigour in that affair. All the plans, that have been laid down by the corporation of the free Britifh fifliery, are nugatory aiid ridicu- lous. The only poffible way of lucceeding (and the Dutch owned to me more than once) HOLLAND. itj once) would be to build a town in the Wes- tern ifles, and make it the feat of the whole undertaking. There to build aH the bufles and boats ufed, to make the nets, to eftablifli manufactures of cordage, fmall anchors, &c. with yards, docks, magazines, &c. alio to have the mips that carried the herrings to market, built and rigged there, and in regular employment ; the coopers that made the bar- rels fettled on the fpot ; alfo bounties mould then be given for every buis, boat, or barrel of herrings ; but the company mould, above all, attend to provide an immediate market for all the fifh caught, and falted and barrelled according to their directions, under the eye of their infpe£tors. It then mould be their buiinefs to load their mips with them, and freight away for the Mediterranean, Portugal, and the Weft Indies. When once the rimer- men found a certain market for all they caught, and cured honeftly, their profeffion would encreafe amazingly ; new towns would ,rife up, and a general alacrity lpread through all the coafts. This would form new markets for all the productions of the neighbouring eftates, which would animate their culture ; and infinitely increefe the va- lue pf the land. All this is in the power, not of the King and Parliament alone, but of 1f$ TRAVELS THROUGH of anv great nobleman of confiderable pro- perty in the iflands. A private capital of 20,cc~l. would go further than five times that fum in the hands of a public company. I went out of my way for the lake of viewing :n, a village, around which, I was informed, I mould lee the richeft foil in Europe, .eft meadows. I examined them atr s a black, moifc, deep loam, nothing can have a finer appeanee ; but I did not find a:, f g en it and: i other - i'lovince. , an acre ft ft .1 more .--:'■: cd a la re.-: c ~ne of them u ils, at $1. dii acre. Moll: ( : the roa 1, rrcm \ d to Hdder, runs on the | - : aft bank, which lecures one Nofthren promontory ; it is hardly twe ~>m fea to lea, ?:d -.-. ] think* as any country. Heldei is a little fiihing villi very pleasantly iiruated. I was (hewn to i but a miferable one, ;. the cleanlinefs m: . lends much better than any circumilance would have done at iuch a place in England. On enquiry for my trui .'.'. I v, - •." '.urprized anddif- ppointed. 1 " were not arrived ; Mynheer HOLLAND. 177 Mynheer Van Hoelft, the Captain of the fkipper, had not been heard of fince his de- parture ; but my landlord knew him well, and he allured me, I need be in no pain for my baggage, as the wind had been contrary thefe four days. Neceffity has no law, I was obliged to fubmit, and, much to the land- lord's fatisfaclion, inftead of making my paflage over to the ifle of Texel directly on my arrival, I was forced to fpend the night at his houfe ; however, the Dutchman pro- vided me fome fbles, lobfters, and a tender chicken, with a bottle of bad claret ; ib I ought not to complain much of my quarters, coniidering the place was only a fiiriing vil- lage. Early in the morning of the 31^, my Dutchman informed me, that the wind con- tinued contrary, that I had no hopes of iee- ing my baggage that day ; that I muft make myfelf contented ; that he would have an excellent dim of fiiri for my dinner, as he purpofed going a fifhing with his own boat ; that it mould be back exact at three, and my dinner fhould be worthy of an Emperor. The fellow, I believe, has a little foreign blood in his veins ; he is not fo phlegmatic as the Dutch in general ; but civil, boaiting, and at the lame time attentive to let me fee, Vol. I. N that i?t TRAVELS THROUGH that he puffed only his capability of pleafing me. I liked the fellow ; told him I would have a day's fining with him; that he mould take a cafe of claret with him, a ftove, bread, fauce, &c. we would dine in his boat on the fifh, frefh as they were caught. This pro- pofal pleafed him much ; I ordered breakfaft, and about ten o'clock we fet out on our fin- ing fcheme. The coaft is well fupplicd ; we caught fine turbot, foles, exceeding fi ne plaife, which, I think, are preferable to their foles ; and crabs, with feveral other forts ; and made a delicious dinner on them, the Dutch dim, fie wed in greafe of Shakefpear, might be the cookery of that age, but it is not of the preterit'. I did not find oiled but- ter even at the lowefl inns. In the night, my friend the fkipper ar- rived, and with him my trunks. The next morning, June ift, I hired a fioop to carry us over to Texel, of which ifland I purpofed taking a view. I got there in an hour, and walked to Burch, the town in it, ordering the iloop to coaft thither, as I had agreed with the failors to carry me to Flie Ifland, and from thence to Karlingen. The. Texel is about fix miles long, and four broad; the foil is a rich meadow, and in every refpecr. like North Holland; the banks and land hills, HOLLAND. 179 hills, for defending- it from the lea, are very frrong and well made. At Burch is a ftrong fortification, with a garrifonin conilant duty. This iiland is totally fed with iheep, of which, though large, they keep tour to an sere; but they do not fat them. They are principally ewes, which they milk regularly like cows, and make cheefe of it ; I tailed it, and wonder much that any writers fhould be io abiurd as to call it excellent ; ir. is very indifferent. The inhabitants ap- ply themfelves principally to the herring lifhery, in which they are reckoned greater- proficients than the failcrs on the main land ; here are alio many pilots. From the Texel I palled over to the ifle of Flie, which is about nine miles long, and in fome places three or four broad. The face of the country is the fame as the Texel, a flat or" good rich pafture, with front banks to defend it from the fea. From hence I em- barked for HarlinJen, and landed there in the night of the jd of June ; taking my quarters at the Peacock inn, where I met with indifferent accommodation. The land- lor flie wed me on mv firft coming, into a a fort ot common room, where there were many forts of guefts. Thi^ I had met with in villages, but not in considerable towns. I told him, I nauft have a room to my felt ; he 2 replied N 1*6 TRAVELS THROUGH replied i:i Englifh, that he had none; upon which I ordered the bell: flipper his town would afford, a bottle of claret, and another of white wine, on condition I had a room. This brought him to his bell; behaviour, and I was accommodated to my wiih. This is one inftance in a thouiand, in which travel- lets receive a treatment proportioned to the mo ne v thev ipend ; nor mould thofe, who are apt to lie too oeconomical, condemn the inns and landlords of a country, when they mind only the keeping their money in their pockets. But whenever a tour, whether at home or abroad, is thought of, if it be on pleafure, and not merely on bulinefs, it is lurely never worth while to fave fifty or three fcore pounds in five hundred, and thereby render a very long journey diia- greeabie. Harlingen is very well built, the ftreets are regular, and moil of them have hand- ibme canals. The harbour admits fmall mips into baibns that are quite furrounded with houles ; but thofe of a heavy burthen mull be unloaded. There are fome confiderable paper manufactories, and alio ioint fabrics of fail cloth, which are flourifhing. I made aii excuiiion or two into the neighbouring country, and round a great change from North HOLLAND. j2i North Holland ; for inftead of the unvary- ing rich meadow lands of that province, here I found a great mixture of arable fields ; they low much barley and wheat, and I obiervod ieveral fields of very fine clover ; alio others fallowing for the iucceeding crop of wheat, and iome for colefeed, which, they faid, they fhould low the latter end of the month ; they life it for extracting oil from the feed. Here let me remark, that I think the Dutch are much worie arable farmers than grafs ones ; but at this indeed I am not fiirprized, for it mufr, be much more difficult to conduct iiich land than meadow, which admits not of near the fame variety. Some of the fallows, I ohferved, were kept in a manner common in England ; that is cloddy, and not abfoluteiv free from weeds ; and I remarked, that the wheat crops were not clean. I am no huf- bandman, and fhall not venture to pro- nounce, whether abiblute garden manage- ment, refpecting the entire freedom from weeds, will anfwer to a common farmer by more than paying the charges ; but it cer- tainly mould be the aim to come as near fuch perfection as profit will allow ; but the bool<;s of hufbandry, which I have read,, ieem to, $well on this point as the line qua dor. N 3 The TRAVELS THROUGH The pafrures about Harlingen are net eq- to thole of North Holland. I took the treckfehuyt to Fratieker the cth of June. It is a very pretty, neat town ; the buildings much better than thole of Har- linsen. There are many of the Frizeland nobilitv that uiually reiide here ; ana alia an iverfity, that has given education to ibme writers noted for their learning. The facn day I nailed en through a rich c . i ith much arat Ic land in it, to Leuwai If . which is the capital of the province. It is iur- rounded with fome flight f ::;::;::: ins ; the i::ee:; are regal:: and well built, and kert very ck id ; and in 6 me parts of it. with rows of bees. The Prince of Orange is a palace here, which I viewed : but it contains nothing wc rthv biervarion. As I had 9 jerter of recommendation to M. Sautyn, a gentleman of confiderable wealth i:: ity, I waited on him loon after r;.v . :. and he was I ig as to walk with me al :a: the pla< . . . :- ever I defired to '. 1 . . his invitation to line with him, and * genteelly :..:■::: i led. FL aft - a round thrcv feveral village in i :ne fa . HOLLAND. 183 federal interefting particulars concerning the province of Frizeland. There is a good deal of arable land in dif- ferent parts of it, but much excellent mea- dow ; upon my obferving to him, that I thought the meadows in North Holland had a richer appearance than thofe I'had feen in Frizeland ; he replied that theirs might not be equal in general to thofe of Holland, but that many tracks were excellent, as I might judge by the horfes, cows, and meep ; all thefe are large, but not lo remarkable as Mr. Sautyn feemed to think them. The South- Eaft'part of the province is but poor land, much of it fandy, and not fo well inhabited as the reft. He laid, their farmers were in general reckoned very good ones, though not equal to the beft in Flanders ; but that they had feveral articles of culture in as great, or greater perfe&ion than in that famous ter- ritory; particularly carrots and turnips. That in manufa&ures, Holland, &c. much exceeded them, though they poffefled fome confiderable fabrics of woollen cloths, and alio of linens : their trade was not flounfh- ing. He remembered, he laid, when there was much more bufinefs carried on at Dockum, Leuwarden, Harlingen, and Sta- vc.ren than at prefent ; that the herring N 4 finery «84 TRAVELS THROUGH fimery was now the principal iupport of the two latter towns. I begged to know his thoughts on the reafon of this decleniion of trade ; and he laid, that it was not peculiar to the province of Frizeland only, but, he apprehended, pretty generally felt all over the United Provinces ; but that the immenle trade carried on at Amfterdam and Rotter- dam, did not allow the declenfion to be fo yifible. I obferved, that the great rile and fupport of their Republic having been a ge- neral commerce with all countries, and of making Holland an univerfal magazine for all products and all commodities, that ex- tended bufinefs depended folely on other na- tions not attending to trade ; but when all around them were ftriving as hard as poilible tp get all they could, and every people wanted a great navigation, the cafe altered much, and every one grew rich at our ex- pence. But, added he, it is you (meaning England) that have done us moil mifchief ; we are all fenfible, that our grand rival in trade is London, and every great increafe of that city's commerce, is made much at the expence of that of Amsterdam, &c. But he further remarked, that their country had two v rher caufes, to which they attributed their decline, nations! debts^ lavs he, and a change of HOLLAND. 185 of manners. Our national debt has rendered fb many taxes, in the fhape of cuftoms and excifes, neceffary, that we have hardly any commerce but what is grievouflv burthened, and all our home coniumption is rendered exceflively dear ; but even this has not been of half the ill confequence that the change of manners has brought about ; our country was once famous for frugality, and even for pariimony ; our great commerce was long- founded in this, for we could afford to trade where no nation could rival us ; and the clofe attention given to commerce, which here far exceeded what was any where elfe to be met with, .gave us a great fuperiority : but now, our merchants are come into indul- gences, even into luxury, which has crept in by degrees ; lb that drefs, equipage, table, and all family expences are amazingly increafed; the confequence of this is very flrong and fatal ; a man with an hundred thoufand flo- rins, if he lives upon the product often thou- fand, and applies that of ninety thoufand an- nually to his trade, it is very evident, that he will be able to increafe and extend his commerce, in a very different manner from what he will do if he fpends the product of thirty thoufand in his houfe, and increaies his trade with only feventy thouiimd : but this, Ifl 5 T RAVEL- H ROUGH .. is a • ition ; we h Ret" ' m i who ipend a re ... d d the (Economy of one conch' .-":. and the exti the other, is an derence not only to the : t, . . - :1 proportion as the : [ual decreafes, ij m t r of a nation's com- This c of our le in Frizeland as in any irt ofH ; we had always a no- themfelves clear of com- mercc ; but this :.rr: elation increafes e day in ten-fold proportion. Theie nobles :es in a 2 m oner within thefe | live in .a more I in former] ; our merchants, when m, and are fond, in mtr of thining them ; I tion does :f ; and it is all the good which a :. s in a commercial Republic. 7 to moo. id ought to be con- .... . wh HOLLAND. 187 in a country that exifts only by trade, while that nobility defpife trade ? I attended with great pleafure to thefe fentiments of M. Sau- tyn, which certainly abound with much truth, and a refined knowlege of the real 111- terefts of his country. Our converfation Lifted till our return to the city, when tak- ing my leave of him and his family, I let out the next morning for Dockum. That town contains nothing that is wor- thy of obfervation, unlefs the bridge, which is lofty enough to admit fhips full-mafted under it, is reckoned fuch. They have fomething of a trade in exporting butter and cheefe, of which the neighbouring country produces very large quantities, the land be- ing chiefly difpofed in paflure, and the foil rich. C II A P. lit TRAVELS THROUGH CHAP. VII. Groningen — JFinfchooten — Happinefs of the lower clajfes of the People in this Country — Journey to Coevorden — Occident that befel the Author which brings him acquainted with a very intelligent Dutchman — Uretcht — Boijleduc — Captain Rey's improvements on waftc Land — Bergenopzoom — Journey thro* Zealand — Culture of Madder. JUKE the ;th I left Dockum, and took the boat to Groningen, the capital town of the province of the fame name, The dis- tance is twenty one miles, through a coun- try the chief of which is applied to grazing. The lands appear to be well managed and laid out, and kept in the fame neat way that I have admired through every part of Hol- land. There are many villages which fee^m populous. This twenty-one miles took us the whole day, from interruptions of many fluice?, fome of which were out of order. Groningen is a very handibme and remark- ably regular built city ; the ftreets crols each Holland. js» each other at right angles, having numerous houfes that make a very good appearance ; and the public buildings, which is not often the cafe, add much to the beauty of the place. It is furrounded with a fortification, which the inhabitants reckon very ftrong, princi- pally, I believe, becaufe the outworks were deHgned by Cohorn, St. Martin's church is worth feeing ; they have a remarkable organ in it which is fhewn to Grangers ; and they conduct them to the top of the fceeple, from whence is a very extenlive profpect over the adjacent country, and well worth viewing, from its being a country chiefly of rich land, intersected with fine canals. The great iquare is remarkably handfome, regularly laid out, and well built. Here alio, though Groningen is an inland place, is a beautiful harbour rbr mips, well fenced with quays, whereon is a good appearance of buiinefs. The canal that brings up thefe ihips is a vety noble one. There being other canals, which branch every way from hence, the town carries on a good trade with all the neigh- bouring countries ; and pretty far into Ger- many. Upon the whole, I have not, lince my arrival in Holland, feen a place that pleafes me better. June 100 TRAVELS THROUGH June the 9th I left this town fof Winfchocten, at the diftarice of twenty miles, which wealfo performed in the treck- fchuyt, taking us up fix hours. The whole country is exceedingly well peopled, being- full of villages, and the land made the moth of by cultivation. It is a rich foil, applied chiefly to pafturage, with fome arable lands, that feem well managed ; for the crops were clean, and the fallows well tilled. The peo- ple feem remarkably chearful and happy ; and that neatnefs and regularity, which I have traced every where through the other provinces I have travelled, is ftrong here. This happinefs and content of the lower claffes of a nation make travelling remarka- bly agreeable ; for nothing is fo miferably irkfome as moving through a country where the inhabitants of it are foopprefTed, as to be all in poverty and rags. But thefe great diftinctions are all owing to variations of go- vernment ; arbitrary power fpreads nothing but poverty and mifery, but a free govern- ment blefles all the people that live under it. All the parts of Holland, through which I have travelled, are very heavily taxed ; much heavier than in any country in Europe, where arbitrary power reigns ; that is, a given number of people, pay more here to the HOLLAND. 191 the State, and yet every body is at their eale, none oppfefled, and moSt weabhy ; Should riot this Single circumftarice teach mankind the value of liberty ? Abiblute power im- poverishes fo heavily, that the people have nothing to pay ; the money torn from the people by irregularity and private oppreilion, amounts to infinitely more than all the wealth that goes to the coffers of the Mo- narch. The King tyrannizes over the no- bility ; the nobility over the gentry ; the gentry over the tradefmen ; and all of them fleece andopprcfs the countrymen. In inch, a fvilem, from whence can property come ? Nothing can exifr. with any iecurity but land e States, for labour, induirry, and inge- nuity can create incomes only in free go- vernment Sufficient to yield taxes to the Stare. How would a Dutch boor be able to bear io confiderable (hare in the public levies, if he was oppreffed and brow-beaten by every neighbour, his Superior ? As wealth is (o much the idol and puriuit of all the Mo- ri arch s now in Europe, it is Strange, ibm-e Icheming head has not fallen upon a mean.* of qualifying the effects of arbitrary power ; l not for the lake of the intereils of human." \ ,tntf for an increale of their Subjects wealth. .The encouragement of agriculture, trade, and i9z TRAVELS THROUGH snd manufactures in France, carry fome- thing of this appearance, but nothing vet done has been fyflematical ; it has been by fits and itarts, and ever been rather from royal momentary bounty, than from efta- blilhing more real liberty in thofe points that would tend mod: to make people rich. The great difficulty is not the gaining a con- cefiion from the crown, but from the nobility and gentry ; who had rather be oppreffed by a court, than not have the power to opprefs their inferiors. Winfchooten is but a paltry town though fortified ; but its principal ftrength is from its ntuation, having feveral marines which would much incommode an army. At mv leaving Winfchooten I made en- quiries concerning the roads and canals thro' the province of Overviiel, and found that the principal pan* age was that to Amfter- dam ; but as I wanted to view the Eaitern parts of that province, oi which I had not met with any good accounts, I declined that , route, and determined to go to Coevorden, which is thirty-nine miles from Win- fchooten. There is no canal thither, nor any public way of travelling it, but in an irregular poft- waggon. I agreed with a perfon, to whom mv landlord carried me, for HOLLAND. 193 for an aukward fort of chaife, which held me and my fervant, and with fome difficulty mv trunks ; he was to furnifh me with a pair of horfes and a poftillion, for the furri of three and thirty florins, and I was to pay all the expences in going. The mailer of the chaife further infilled on our being a day and half on the journey, which he faid was neceffary, as the roads acrofs ibme marines were very bad; and he faid, that at Sleen, a little vil- lage in the way, I mould meet with tolerable accommodation. Early in the morning on fche 10th, I fet out, thus provided, for Coevorden, and made our firft fhge to Mepfche ; to which we had a good road, through a rich country, well peopled ; but at that place we turned oft into a much worfe, the roads bad, and the villages hut thinly {battered ; the foil was in ibme places fandy and poor, and in general low and marfhy ; not managed and improved in that maiterly manner which I had ob- ferved in the other parts of the United Pro- vinces. Many marines were indeed drained, but ieveral were yet to do, that were viiibiv capable of the improvement. We had not lett Mepiche two hours, before our chaife broke down, but fortunately it was in fight of a large farm houfe ; the farmer, who. Vol. I. O proved h / . i 1 $ A '."ELS THROUG H . .1 very civil Dutchman, was in his .. and upon observing our diitreis, came ;.:-. I ordered my fervant to inform him, I v. - rn Englilh gentleman on my road from Winfchooten to Coevorden ; that 1 expected to reach Sleen bv night, but this accident would make it difficult; I ihould be much obliged to him, if he id give lat aiiiitance he was able; that I would readily pay him whatever he demanded. The firmer was extremely . ordered the horfes into his barn; (hewed me into his houfe, where he intro- duced me in a plain, feniible manner to his wife and his daughter ; and lent away one of his ions for a neighbouring peafant, who Supplied the place of a wheel-wright ; but in the mean time, he entertained me with iome butter-milk, eggs, bacon, and greens, with good cheefe : he was an elderly man, with a countenance as exprefnve of an open, Ironeit heart, as any I had ever feci*. His . about an hour, and informed v , that the man, who was to let our chaife on its legs again, (the axle-tree being broke) iblent, I not he at home till late at night, and his family Cent us word that he could not be with us till early in the morni j i (oofl as the honeit. farmer heard HOLLAND. 19s heard this meffage, he turned to my man and faid, let your mailer know, that he muft be fatisfied to itay where he is ; my houfe is at his ferviee, I cannot entertain him well, but he will be better oft than at the inn at Sleen, which is a mere hovel. I had picked up Dutch enough to understand part of this dif- courfe, and I made my acknowledgments to him as well as I could in that language. I was much pleafed with my good fortune, in the accident happening fo near a man that was lb ready to amfr. me ; I mould have found it far more diftremng with the general run of peafants. The farmer, in the afternoon, went about his bufinefs in the fields, and I defired leave to accompany him, and take my fervant with with me for an interpreter. I think travellers do not attend enough to country bufinefs ; not conlidering, that a well ordered agricul- ture, and improvements in the foil of a ftate, are one of the chief pillars of every country. It is not that gentlemen can be expected to talk or write lcientifically upon matters of hufbandry, theufual courie of education wiiL not admit of it, nor, perhaps, would there be any great ufe in it ; but ignorant perfons may, in the plain relation of what they fee, be of fervicc to thofe whofe inclinations, or way of O 2 life 595 TRAVELS THROUGH life, lead them to the practice of hufoandrv ; which is an art that was ever in much effeem among all wile and polifhed nations. The great objects that a traveller, elpccially one which propofes to publifh the reiiilt of his travels, ought moft to attend to, are thofe, which have the greateft probability of being ufeful to his own country ; theie are the laws, and their effects ; which, however, can ieldom be accurately invefti gated, unlefs the ffay in a foreign country is of fome duration ; the trade, its rife, progrefs, and decline ; the manufactures, the lame ; and, as I have juft obferved, if they would give fome attention to agriculture, I fee not where the harm would be ; on the contrary, it might prove, in many cafes, ufeful. It is in conformity with thefe ideas that I have, during my ffay in Holland, made feveral enquiries concern- ing the Hate of husbandry, whether of paftu- rage or arable land, and was I Ikilled in the art, my enquiries would be more pertinent. My friend, the farmer, informed me, that he hired his farm of the Count of Zencyle, and that he paid at the rate of fix florins an Englilh acre ; but then he had much land of a very indifferent quality. The whole of his farm equalled 160 acres Englifh, as near as I could compute. He had pafture and arable, as HOLLAND. 197 as well as marfh and fandy wafte in his farm, and alfo another piece of land, of large extent, partly belonging to him. I could not clearly comprehend his meaning, but mould apprehend, that it is the fame, in fact, as an Engiifh common, the right of which is in feveral farmers, but no cottagers. As we walked over a piece of poor, fandy ground, I alked him, if he could not improve that foil ; he replied, it was already very valuable to him, for the fallow year yielded him, with- out any tillage, a great crop of fern. This I thought was very ftrange hufbandry, as I had ufually heard that plant reprefentedin England as a pernicious weed; but he explained himfelf by faying, that the fern ferved him in the moft ample manner for bedding his cattle in their winter ftalls. He obferved, that this piece of fandy land yielded a very large quan- tity of manure by this means for his better lands, and, at the fame time, that his cattle were better bedded than with ftrawonly that they wafted in feeding. This made me en- quire of him, if he always kept his cattle in houfes in the winter. The old man feemed iurprized at this queftion, and aiked me, where I fuppofed he kept them. I told him, that in England, all our farmers keep their cattle in the rields, during winter, as well as O 3 fummer* 198 TRAVELS THROUGH fummer. This he could not well compre- hend. He informed me, that all the cattle of this country, old and young, and of all forts, were regularly kept in houfe through the winter. I afked him, if this did not prove a very expeniive management. He re- plied, no : but if it was more expenfive, it would be abfolutely neceffary ; firft, for the good of the cattle ; as they would, he aflerted, be pinched fo with the frofts in winter, that twice the common quantities of food would be infufficient to keep them in heart ; and iuch beafts, as were very tender, he thought, would not outlive a winter in the fields. But, fays the old man, where is your dung railed, if the cattle in England are in the fields all winter ? This was a quefKon, the propriety of which {truck me, and for which I was not prepared with an anfwer ; and the farmer, feeing, I fuppofe, my ip-norance, went on : by keeping our cattle houfed, we not only preferve them in good health, but alio raiie a large quantity of manure, wherewith we improve thofe fields that will probably pay the beft for it. It is very common, laid he, to feed the cattle with hay, turnips, and winter-cabbages, and to bed them at the fame time with ftraw ; but thofe among us, who Jiave fern on our lands, give the ftraw to ouf cattle HOLLAND. 199 cattle of inferior value, and bed all forts with fern , which we find an improvement of the moffc valuable kind ; for it enables us to fubfHtute ftraw as food for much of our frock, infiead of hay. Another material point is the value of the dung; we find, from experience, that fern makes better manure than ftraw ; inio- much that two loads of dung, made with fern, is equal in value to three made with ftraw. Fern manure will laft much longer in the foil than that of ftraw. I conlidered all this information concerning fern as very valuable ; for I well remember, that in En- gland, a great deal of fern grows on verv extenfive commons, and that no ufe is made of it ; it is left to rot in the commons and warrens, as if impoilible to be turned to anv good ufe ; but, I am afraid, that if the facts* which have been urged to me by this Dutch hufbandman, were itated ever ib clearly to our Englim farmers, they would make no, fort of imprefiion on them, but would dik dain to take any fuch leflbn. This very intelligent farmer ami red me, that he was the more attentive to this appli- cation of his fern, becaufe he found that the goodnefs of his crops depended entirely on the quantities of inch manure ulcd. lie laid, he fhould not be able to make any profit, O 4- bv < Hi.' zpm T R A V E L S T II ROUGH lis firm, if he neglected the article of railing as much dung as p le in the win- ter. He uied not only his fern for this pur- pofe, but mr.de great uie of a very marfhy bit cf land he had, which was (6 wet that no cat tie could get to it, except for about two months in the height of fummer ; this piece yields him a vair cropof ruihes and flags, to the amount of federal waggon loads. He applies them to the fame uie as his fern, that is, for bedding bis cattle, and finds an equal ntage in it. Another circumilance he informed me of, and which I think oiay be •ufeful to mention, is a method he has in the management of his dung ; at the lame time that he beds his cattle with fern or rulhes, he ftrews land among them, in pretty large quantities : what the purpefe of this was, I could not conceive, till he explained it. It is for encreafmg the quantity of manure, and alio the quality of it, by abiorbing all the urine ; and he faid, that it was not or the prejudice to the cattle. I muft own 3 {truck me ; I had never heard of limilar one in England, but yet, it ..t be there imitated with profit. 1 he i jment of his (keep is ex a on the • : . of folding them in the is the cuftom tu L.;ha.a, he, all wintei HOLLAND. 201 ' winter long, forms his fold adjoining to his barn, and litters them in the fame manner as his cows. The old man, obferving me very attentive to his converfation, extended his walk to mew me his crops, which feemed to be very- good ; he had fields of moil forts of common grain, and one or two of buck wheat, which he laid was very profitable. The only pe- culiar one, not known in the fields of Eng- land, was carrots ; he had a long field of them, in which he had a large parcel of wo- men and children weeding. This, he faid, was the moft profitable crop on his farm. Night coming on, we returned to his houfe, where his wife and daughter had been pre- paring fupper ; it was common fare, but good of the fort, and I eat it with the greater pleafure, as I obferved that the cleanlinefs of the houfe was truly Dutch. I gave my man orders to take care that the chaife was well mended early in the morning, and retired to reft in a clean bed, much pleafed with my reception. I took an early breakfaft before my departure, and gave my worthy friend a purfe of florins with more pleafure than I had a long time parted witb money. He was extremely thankful, and we pufhed on for Coevorden, to my no imall fatisf action in efcaping zzz T R A V E L 5 THRO U G H efcaping the inn at Sleen. The c we travelled through is indifferent, not rich, and much marfli land ; we did not ar- at Coevorden till at noon of the nth. It is lituated in a lew marih, which renders it, v rtirications, a place of m ftrength, being efteemed one of the I pmces. In the war of 1672. it proved ib, for the Bimop of Muni bimielf mailer of it, decided the campaign. It is not otherwiie a place of any n te : there is a manufacture of thread in it. which employs many poor woi and chSdren. From Coevorden I agreed for another chaife to carry me to Zwoll, the diftance 35 miles. Being forced to come again into the terms of lving on the road, though I could find I was not to expect good accommoda- 5. I breakfafted at Hardenburgbs, and reached Ommen in the afternoon ; where I was agreeably ci tnted by finding a very :nt inn. The town minds pkafantly on a river. Ah rhis line of count, y : and fome of it poor ; but the road run higher and better grounds. It is not, upon the ley an agreeable country, though, left Winichooten, it varies from any other I had j-,:. in Holland. On the 13th in the niornj g HOLLAND. 203 morning I got to Zwoll, which is a confider- able place ; it lies between two rivers, and has a branch that runs through the town. It is well built, the ftreets regular, and there are feveral public edifices, that will catch the attention of a ftranger. The fortifications are the greatefc omoment to it, from being- planted regularly. From Zwoll I took a re- gular poll: chaife to Deventer, the diftance twelve miles. This is a rich country, and very well kept, but there are fome maim lands and fandy tracks within fight at feveral places. I went to the Crown inn, where I met with pretty good accomdation, but dear. Here is a tolerable appearance of trade, though nothing in comparifon of what it once polfeffed when a Hanle Town. There are many people of fortune make it their reiidence, which renders the town chearful, and the more agreeable to ftrangers; but the public buildings have nothing in them deferving notice, though Grangers are fhewn an uncommon old tower of great an- tiquity, the walls of which are near twenty feet thick ; a notable fortification before that cieftructive compound with falt-petre was in- vented. The next morning I went to Zutphen, which is eight miles further. The country is 2C4 T R A VE1S T K R < ft indifferent; O.: fome rich, fandv loams they have tobac an unuliial product of bui in Europe, t I had ac .1 fi :>pped to w it. They dig their lands into three feet ridges, : the crop in row?. T it requires vciy rich lend, and th does much miichief to all the country where cult: it robs all other lands of m re- time exhaufte the toil in a very extraordinary degree. Thej not reckon it, theie circumftances confidered, more profitable, or but little io, than com- mon he. . Zutphen is fituated in the midit. of drained fens, but is neverthe oned by the inhabitants to have a "\vholelbme air. It is a large and well I , and lirongly fortified ; the public Idings are handlome, and delerve not particularly a bridge over the river E. old church is a fine building, and . the t in Hci' have lam, but ma: .are very : jut To ih corporation r vhich are g This h Zutphen dei ice. The fount* i fromZut toArh- heim, by Doefburgh, is through :brts of HOLLAND. 2r- of lands, but ibme of them very indifferent. I was informed, that moil of the county of Zutphen, and a great part of Guelderland, coniiiled in general either of marfhes, heaths, or but half improved lands, which much fur- prized me ; for I had conceived, that the United Provinces were fo thicklv inhabited, that almofl every ipot was richly cultivated ; but the cale is, the people are very unequally diflributed ; the province of Holland is full of cities and towns, and every inch cultivat- ed, but thefe parts, being much more out of the way of trade, are not fo thronged with people. Arnheim is a very fine city, extremely well built, with feveral beautiful flreets. It is the reiidence of many perfons of fortune and diflin&ion, who fupport themfelves without the afliilance of trade. The place is very lively, having a greater air of chear- fulnefs and eafe than moil I had been in of late. My quarters were at the Peacock inn, which is kept by a Frenchman, who has a fmattering of Engliih. I was treated well here, and lerved with a table that almoil deferves the epithet of elegant, and yet the expence was not extravagant. From this place I made an excurfion to fee Loo, the fa- mous favourite feat of King William. The whole is a vile country, ail heaths and fo- • reils, 2oS TRAVELS THROUGH re lis, and in the midfr. of which {lands the palace. It contains nothing that figure? much to an Englishman, who has viewed the line buildings in his own country. The gardens are what the Dutch moll admire ; but thefe are quite in the old uile, with wa- ter-works, batons, and regular cafcades ; but the fhady walks they mew you with lb me oltentation, and they are indeed very well planted, and the trees large, but all is dipt and regular. Rolendall is in the lame taile* but the building highly ornamented. Ano- ther excurfion I made was to Nimeguen, on the canal which is cut itrait between thefe cities, at their joint expence. It is a large and considerable city, ftrongly fortified, be- ing coniidered as one of the keys of the United Provinces, and is the capital of that of Guelderland. It is very populous, hav- ing ieveral manufactures that are fiourifhing,- Thereare ten churches in it. St. Stephen's the principal, in which is a very fine monu- ment of Catharine of Bourbon, wife to A- dolph VII. Duke of Guelder. The Stadt- houfe is a coniiderable edifice, but has no- thing elegant in it. From the old caftle there is a very beautiful profpecl of the ad- jacent country. This place is much noted for die treaty of peace between the French and HOLLAND. *o7 and the allies in 1678, of which Sir Wil- Temple has left fo excellent an account. Early on the 17th I left Arnheim, on my way to Utrecht. It is two and thirty miles, through an extreme pleafant, and much of it a rich country, abounding with feats and villas. It is well peopled, and feems rich. Utrecht is one of the firft cities in the United Provinces ; it is fpacious, and very populous, and excellently fituated in a beautiful coun- try. The chief ftreets, which are regular and well built, are cut through with canals: the new Gratch and the Vaert run throurh the whole city, having no lefs than five and thirty bridges over them. The edifices on the former would do credit to any city in Europe. The fquare is fpacious, and is the centre of feveral regular ftreets, that cut one another at right angles. Utrecht is longer than the Hague, and next to it, is the prin- cipal refidence of the nobility, and all polite perfbns who live on their private fortune ; bclides which advantages, it is the capital of the province of the fame name, and where the fbvereign courts are held. The cathe- dral is in ruins, nor is there any other public buildings that deferve notice. The fteeple of this cathedral is however one of thehigheit in Holland, and from it I had the fatisfactioa of 2o8 TRAVELS THR'OUGH of viewing an amazing profpecl over Five of the Seven Provinces, and a great way further towards Cleves in Germany. They mewed me above fifty walled towns in the neigh- bourhood, none of them more than a day's journey from this city. Utrecht is the feat of aflourifliing univerfity, in which are great numbers of ftudents from various parts, par- ticularly from Germany and the North of Europe. One of the moft agreeable fpecla- cles here, is, what they call their Mall, from that of St. James's- park. It is near three quarters of a mile in length, with four large parallel walks with rows of trees : here the belt, company in Utrecht parade backwards and forwards, efpecially on Sunday evenings in fummer. The environs of the city are perfeftly agreeable, being full of gardens, orchards, canals, and walks ; but the foil is too fandy for the rich verdure of meadows, and therefore there are arable fields very near the city. I took my leave of Utrecht on the 20th, and went by the treckfchuyt to Vyann, in my way to Boifleduc. This is a little town of an agreeable appearance, which does not belong to Holland, but to the Counts of Brederode. The air is reckoned remarkably clear and fine ; but this may be occafioned by HOLLAND. io9 by many people retiring here under pretence of the air, but really from very different mo- tives. It is very troublefome to the Dutch. The country is mod: of it fandy. Gorcum is the next ftage, and is fituated on the river Waal ; it is pretty flrongly fortified. They are famous here for frem water flfh ; I had as fine tench for my dinner a6 ever I faw, and the price is moderate. From hence it is 20 miles to Boifleduc, through Worcum and Huefden, both which places are, fortified. The country is all indifferent ; but even the worft foils, and the molt, uninterefting na- tural views, are rendered pleafing by the great fpirit of neatnefs and regularity which is every where found* Boifleduc is one of the grand frontiers of Holland, being extremely well fortified by- art, and better ftill by nature. It is fituated on ariiing ground, in the midft of an extent- five marlh, through whickthere would be no poffibility of approaching it, were there not caufeways made, and thefe are ftrongly for- tified by redoubts. The town is five miles iq circumference, being on the confluence of the three rivers, Domel, Aa, and Drefe ; and its ditches are nlled by their waters, which contribute much to the ftrength of the place. Theie rivers form feveral very fine Vol. I. P canals, *id T ft a v Els through canals, which run through the heart of the city : over thefe there are titty ftone bridges. Ten good ftreets center in the principal iquare, which has a fine effect ; but this iquare is iurrounded by timber buildings, which are mean. As to public buildings, the church of St. John is a very noble one ; hut the clock, which they ihew with ffi often tation, is not ib greatly ftriking. The Stadthoufe is a handlome edifice, railed on the plan (but much imaller) of that at Am- fterdam. Here are ieveral very flourifhing manufactures , particularly in the linen and woollen way ; and fome of knives and other hardware, and alio of needles. I made en- quiries into the ftate of thefe fabrics, and the report I had was more favourable to them than ufual ; moft of them being in a iuccefs- ful ilate. The linen trade is not io flourish- ing as formerly, but, I believe, even that has 310 reafon to complain. The country, for feme miles to the South Eaft of this town, lias many extenfive tracks of wafte land, •:h would well anlwer cultivation : but the inhabitants d.o not in general leern much attentive to inch buiinefs, notwithstanding the luccefs of certain individuals, who have attempted it. Araon git thefe, there is a Captain Rey, f whole great undertakings I \:d HOLLAND. 211 had read in two or three books lately pub- limed in Holland. This gentleman is fet- tled at Tillebourg, twelve miles from Boifle- duc. I took a journey thither, purpofely to view his improvements : the hiftory of which is this. In the neighbourhood of that town are very exteniive heaths, that are common, the appearance of them not at all inviting, and the value to the public contemptible. M. Rey, of the regiment of Pepin, petitioned the States of Boiileduc for a grant of a part of theie heaths, engaging at the fame time to cul- tivate them. His requefr. was refufed, from that little fpirit of raifing difficulties, which .is fo oiten found to arm againit. thofe who ever purpofe any novelties. A year elapfed after this refufal, when, by lome means or other, the knowledge of this affair was lb ipread, that it came to be debated in the States Ge- neral ; where a member, fenfible and worthy, I doubt not, propofed, that the Captain's pe- tition mould be complied with, as an objec: that tended evidently to the public good. It was at once agreed to, and Captain, Rev put in pofleilion of the lands he had deiired. It is a miftake in feveral writers to far, that this gentleman executed all his works merely with his pay as a Captain ; for I had it from his own mouth, that he began with a P a fmall 212 TRAVELS THROUGH fmall private fortune, which was of gr^a^ life to him, more in gaining him credit for tire fums he wanted to borrow, than in the application of that particular amount. This fortune, however, was but inconfiderable. Upon my arrival at this gentleman's farm, I ordered my fervant to inform him, that I was an Englifh gentleman on my travels, and having heard much of his great improve- ments, was come from Boifleduc purpofely to defire permiffion to fee them. The Captain came himfelf to my chaife, and very politely deiired me to alight, telling me that he would fhew me what little matters he had done with the greateft. pleafure, and imme- diately conducted me to his houfe. It was nbout one o'clock ; the Captain faid, he fhould dine prefently, and m the interim de- fired permhTion to mew me his chateau, and his farming offices. All thefe, he informed me, he had built by degrees, for that not a ftone was to be feen before he began his works. The houfe is fmall, but fubftantial, confuting of a little paflage in the center, and a parlour on each fide ; one is the common room, and the other for company ; behind thefe is a kitchen, and an adjoining room for his work people, with fome other conveniencies ; wid orer all four bed- HOLLAND. 213 Bed-chambers. He has a large barn, two {tables, three houies for cows, and iome other inferior offices, lurrounding a lquare court near the houle. When he had fhewed me thele buildings, he returned to dinner ; a flight but genteel repair, provided, not expen- sive, but frugal. The Captain is. a man of tenfe, and has leen enough of the world to avoid that very falfe politenels of apologies. I give you, Sir, laid he, addrelilng himfclf to me, good bread, good beer, good wine, and good cheefe ; as to all the reft, J attend no further. This is certainly the fenfible line of life ; a man may always have thefe in frore, io as not to be put to a nonplus if any ilran-* ger calls upon him,. I have heard this lan- guage more than once in England, but never till now beheld the conduct really exiiting, end reduced to practice. The conversation turned upon agriculture, and the Captain's improvements. " When I came here, Sir, faid he, I found all an open common, co- vered with bufhes, fern, and other trumpery t without one inclofure, or a tingle advantage that I could apply to ufe. I fir it erected one half of this houle, in which I refided while all the other works were going on, I began with a pair of hories and a yoke of oxen, with which I broke up a field of ten acres. P 3 I could 2i4 travels' through I could have managed a larger undertaken but the fences were not completed, for I have ever made it a rule of conduct, to indole completely the piece of land I defigiied to improve. I have obferved fome waite lands in France, attempted to be improved, with- out attending to this rule, but never with fuccefs. My crops upon my firfr. inclofure were good, and gave me courage to proceed with fpirit in my undertaking. I mould have been better able to encounter the dif- ficulties I met with, had I been more prac- tifed in hufbandry ; but for want of expe- rience, I made blunders at the very begin- ning of my undertaking, for I was too'eager after profit in lowing corn, whereas the fir ft buiinefs ought to have been the railing winter food for cattle ; and this, faid he, ought to be the great object in all beginnings." I did not comprehend this reafoning, as it appeared to me, that raifing what would buy food for cattle, was in effect raifmg that food ; how- ever, as M. Rev continued his obfervations, I did not interrupt him for an explanation. " The year following I enclofed two fields, each of ten acres, which I was forced to grub up, to bring the land into order for the plough to work in. This was a great and an expeniive work ; and I made it the more f0, HOLLAND. z\£ fo, from trying an experiment in cutting the furface of a part for burning it, from the practice of a French nobleman, who has publifhed a work on improvements of wafte land. The foil alfo being fandy, I was much troubled in making; the fences ; mv method was to cut a ditch, and plant a live hedge of hornbeam on the bank, which, you will fee, has at lait auiwered perfectly well ; but the expence of defending it, while young, with the rubbifh that was cut from the heath, I found coniiderable. I purchafed this year three cows, and began to think myfelf a coniiderable farmer. In this manner, Sir, I continued a gradual increaie of cultivate^! land for five years, making alio occafional additions to my live ltock, to my fervants, and alfo to my buildings ; and it pleafed God, to profper my undertaking, that 1 then found but little difficulty in getting credit for twentv thoufand florins, which enabled me to enlarge greatly my undertakings. The vear following, I borrowed as much more, and the expenditure of that fum, with the annual one of my own favings, brought my works in fuch forwardnefs, that from that time I have had, not only an increafing, but a profitable farm. I have been for fome time paving off gradually thofe incumbrances, and 'P i (hall «i6 TRAVELS THROUGH fhall foon be perfectly free on that head. A little experience pointed out my firft errors, and the way to avoid them. I made it a point to increafe my cattle, as fail as I was able, and could do that only by bringing my lands to bear grafs. The common meadows require a rich foil, I therefore adopted the artificial ones. I tried Lucerne, fe^parcette, clover red and white, fpurry, &c. In Lu- cerne, I have never done any thing, except in one fmall piece of rich land, that had been manured in a more ample manner than I could poffibly afford, if I had extended the culture of it : the great red clover and fpurry have been, my principal friends ; for I may truly fay, I have had more aliiftance from them, than from any other branches of my cultivation. Turnips and carrots I havn principally depended on for the winter fubr fiftence of rpy cattle j and I find, that they prepare well for the grafles. By adhereing to the modes which I have found moft adr vantageous, I have no doubt of continuing to increafe my profit. Noj mould I forgef to obferve to you, Sir, that I have found no flight aliiftance in my undertakings from a lettle fettlement I have on my land, of five "Palatine families, by whofe means, at the fame time that I have been a good friend tp them, HOLLAND. %vj them, they have done much in returning it ; fo that we are truly the better for each other/* I here remarked to him that I mould fuppofe, the fuccefs of fuch undertakings, on what* ever fcale they are carried on, mull: depend very much on peopling the waftes, defigned to be improved ; for without plenty of hands, how are improvements to be carrie4 on ? *' Very true, he replied, and I am con- vinced frorn my own experience, that no- thing would anfwer fo well to their High Mighlinefles, as the fettling poor German families on the numerous and extenhVe ■waftes which are in the provinces of Zut- phen, Guelderland, Breda, and Overyflel, for they would prefently make them well cul- tivated provinces ; but improvements of thefe wafles mull: be made by private perfbns, for fuch cannot well profper in the hands of the public." The Captain mewed me the principal parts of his farm which lye very agreeably around his houle ; it is a very pleaiing one to view, for the fences are new made, regular, and kept in excellent order. The crops, I obferyed, were all free from weeds, and every field appeared in good condition. What a practical farmer would pronounce on them, J know not, but I own, M. Rey appears tp m« 3it TRAVELS THROUGH me to be an excellent hnfbandman. He v \ li table, for he iniiited on my itaving ail night, which I complied with, as I thought his conversation was imcom- monlv fenrible and inftructive. I could not k:.ve him without reflecting oil the great thi:i:. " hich may be executed by the force of induftrv and perfeverance. Captain Rev's c_.:.te, on the waftes of Tiilebourg, is a new creation ; . s are fupported by that land, which before did not yield enough to keep a iheep. Tins is by no meaas to be .red linglv as a private acquisition, the State remaps probably more profit from it than the in -I ; for increafmg the value of the earth's products, is encreafing the na- tional wealth : and what acquilition can be more valuable than that of new7 induftrious fbbjdEbs : The States of the country, who rejected M. Rey's petition, muff now be convinced of the practicability and the profit i F improving theie waftes, and the States General have plainly fhewn their fagacity in errantmg: it. But what is very ailonifhir.z, right example has had fcarcely any ef- . except one or two inilances of im- provement which I heard ot, but in fuch a confuh '-:.-. r, that I c6\ make out wlrther i\ hiclolures. Is. H Q L -L A N T>. 2ty Ts it not amazing, that M. Rey's great fuc- eels, (hnuld have no followers ? I apprehend,- that gentlemen, in a fimilar ftate, are afraid of attempting fuch undertakings, left they mould either be lofers by them, or perfect. flaves to the work ; and indeed while perlbns are ignorant, it mult require a certain enthu- iiafm in the mind to carry a man through all oppoling difficulties, till fuccefs hath fecured and crowned his willies. Tillebourg, though out of the direct roacf to Breda from Boifleduc, was now my neareir way to it, I therefore took my, leave of the Captain, thanking him very fincerely for his hofpitality, and made the bell: of my way to Breda the 24th. The road leads moftly through uncultivated heaths, that require fuch ipirits as M. Rey's to improve, and would doubtlefs repay their attention equally as well. Breda deferves the traveller's atten- tion. It is one of the ftrongeft towns in Holland ; the fortifications are very regular, and kept in excellent repair ; the fituation of the place is low, for the fea can be let into the ditches, and from thence over much of the country, which muff render an army's accefs to it very difficult. The whole barony and town belongs to the Prince of Orange* who is the Sovereign, and has a modern built caitle Gtz TRAVELS THROUGH caftle for his refidence when here, with gar- dens, and a fmaall park. It is a large place, populous, and well built. From Breda I went the 25th to Bergenopzoom, which is twenty miles, through amuch richer count rv* This city is large, and the ftreets regular ; the church and the palace were fine build- ings before the liege in 1747. The market place is very large and handibme, but the fortifications arc the principal objecls in it. The Duke's of Parma and Spinola, both found them too ftrong for all their power, which gave it the title of the Virgin fortrefs, and impregnable ; for as luch it was reckoned before Marfhal Lowendahl came before it. It {lands in the midfl of marines ; io that every advantage of fituation is united with thofe of Cohorn, as he was long employed to construct whatever works about it he thought neceffary for making it as itrong as poiliblet A canal keeps open a communication with the lea ; and to defend this canal, there are redoubts, forts, palifadoes, &c. without number, and a village flrongly fortified in the midft. In a word, nothing was ipare4 to fecure to it its pretences to being impreg- nable ; and it is the general opinion in Hol- land, that it really is lb ; and that the French wl . d HOLLAND. 221 would never have taken it with their cannon, \mlefs they had loaded them with golden balls. Having dined, and finished my view of Bergem, I took boat for Goes, in the ifland of South Beveland, in the province of Zea- land, where I put up at the Golden Lion, which is but an indifferent inn, and the peo- ple not very ciyil,. The next morn, I made an excursion to view the ifland, which is about fifteen miles long, and half as broad. The land all lies low, and is defended from the lea by high banks. The foil is extremely rich, but not all applied to pafturage. I faw much corn, which appeared to be very fine and clean ; and al(b fome large fields of madder, which is a particular article of cul- ture in this country, which they follow very affiduoufly, and from whence madder is called Zealand madder. It grows on flat lands, formed into regular oblongs by fmall trenches, and in rows about a foot afimder ; it is a ftraggling odd plant ; yet I remarked, that they keep it very clean, by weeding and hoeing, for I could fcarcely fee a fingi.e weed in a large field. They informed me, that it is three years in the ground, uniefs the growth || 2 T R A V E L S THROU G H growth is extraordinary, and in iuch cafe two are iufficient ; the valuable part is the root, which, when dried, makes a very fine dye : they eileem it more profitable than any other article of huibandry, but are forced to pick their land for it, as it will iucceed only 0:1 certain foils : the great point is to find pieces dry enough for it, and at the fame time extremely fertile, for no land can be too rich for it. Great quantities of madder are exported from moil: parts of Zealand to Lon- don, as the growth does not iucceed in Eng- land, notwithftanding all the endeavours that have been ufed to raile it. From Goes, I went by water to Mid- dleburgh, which is the capital, not only of the iiland of Walcheren, but alio of all Zea- land. It is one of the moll: co-fderable cities in the United Provinces, being very larp-e and well built ; the ftreets are bread, o regular, and very well paved ; the public edifices itriking, and fome of them magni- ficent. Here arc twenty churches, among which the new church figures molt ; it has a •me cupola, and great merit in the architecture. Merchant veliels come into the center of the city, by means of a canal from the lea ; fe that Middleburgh en- joys a very confidcrabie commei'ce, particu- larly HOLLAND. e^ larlv in Spanifh and French wines, which are reckoned the ftaple of the place. I made an excurfion through the principal part of the ifland, which was not a difagreeable em** ployment for a day. It is a rich, low, flat country, applied to railing both corn and pafture ; and it abounds alfo with madder ; but they feem to plant it in a different man- from what they do in Bevel and. I made fome enquiries into culture here, as I had done there ; and found that they reckon that a common crop from an Englifh acre, will produce from three to four hundred florins in value, if it is in the ground three years ; this is about thirty or forty pounds ; but then the expences of the management run very high, and they manufacture it, for which feveral confiderable buildings are neceflary, before it is marketable. But notwithllandinor thefe circumflances, they efteem it a more pro- fitable article than either corn or grafs. From Middleburgh, Ifetout on the 27th for Bruges, through Dutch Flanders ; the part I travelled, was not equally fertile in appear- ance, nor fo agreeable as I had been given by the books to underftand, but towards the Auftrian Province it improves greatly. And here, as I conclude my journey through the dominions 224 TRAVELS THROUGH dominions of the States General, it will be neceflary to make fome obfervations*, and give a general review of feveral particulars concerning the Dutch, not fuffickntly ex^ plained in the preceding chapters* CHAP. HOLLAND. 225 CHAP. VIII. Of the Mamifatlures of Holland. IT is not only that general trade of buy- ing and felling, which has enriched to ib great a degree this country, but it is fuller of manufactures than any other in Europe. The Dutch have numerous fabrics, which they work up from the produces of all their neighbours, and of all parts of the world ; thele they vend in their general trade ; and and this traffic is one of the principal pillars of their ftate. I have, in various pafiages, in the preceding accounts, given the reiiilt of my enquiries on this head, at the manufac- turing towns through which I pafied ; but there remains iome general remarks to be laid before the reader, in order that he may have the better idea of the prefent Irate of the Dutch manufactures : and this I fliall do by taking fome extracts from a very good account of them, which has been lately pub* limed in Holland, and which has not ap- peared in the Englifh language. Vol. I. Q^ " Holland 2z& f R A V E L S THROUGH " Holland has been the feat of manufac- tures without doing any thing actively to attract them. Workmen from every coun- try, moleited in their peribns, their eftates, or their religion, have taken refuge here, with their abilities and their induftry ; this induftry has fuftained them in a ftate greatly flourifhing, as long as the low price of la- bour would allow a profit fufficiently great in the lale of their fabrics. In the lafl age, it is certain, that there was no place compa- rable to Holland, for numbers of flourifhing manufactures. In the principal cities of the province of Holland, were found the fineft and richeft fabrics of all forts, of fluffs, of filk, in every variation of gold, iilver, &c. of wool, and linens of all forts, colours, and dies, the fineft and moil rare ; ribbons and laces of gold, iilver, and iilk, velvets, gauzes flowered and plain, tapeftries, leathers gilt, &c. All theie manufactures exifl at prefent, but with leis eclat than formerly : they are, elpecially iu thole of wool, iilk, gold, and iilver, rivalled by the competition of Genoa, Venice, France, and England. They make at Amfterdam, gold and filver fturfs, da- maiks, brocades, taiteties, mohairs, fhal- loons, velvets, and plumes. They imitate at Haerlem, many of the different kinds aud HOLLAND. 227 and defigns of fluffs at Lyons ; for they have never poflefl'ed, in thefe manufactures, the art of deiigning, which emhelliihes and en- riches annually thofe of Tours, and princi- pally thofe of Lyons, by a great variety, and by the graces of tafte and novelty. Thefe manufactures, and thofe of woollen fluffs, at Ley den and Utrecht, which have for feme time enriched their exportation, had not their birth in Holland, but were brought there by refugees. A general toleration, and a certain afylum, have enriched Hol- land with the induftry of other nations, and efpecially with that of the French ; and the prodigious extent of the Dutch commerce, joined to their intelligence and refined ceco- nomy, have given to the manufactures of thefe refugees, a reputation which has in- fured a great fale of all the productions of their induftry, and from thence brought them continually nearer to perfection. This reputation has been fuch, that it has not been uncommon for the velvets manufac- tured at Milan, to be fent to Holland, and from thence re-exported to Milan, for the Holland velvet ; to which, belides the ex- pence of freight and commifhon, this repu- tation alone would add a new value. Q 2 M The *z* TRAVELS THROUGH " The fluffs of Holland have fupported far a long time the competition of thoie of Ly- ons, and above all of thoie of Paris, in fpite of the great variety, tafte, and the beauties of delign, in the fabrics of Lyons, which have for a long time decided the iuperiority in all manufactures of filk. The filk ftuiis of Holland have been lough: for in France for a great number of years, on accou it of their iblidity, and efpecially by thofe who do not change with the mode. For in this atticle, fuch has been the extravagance of the fafhion, that it every year receives im- perious dictates from the fabrics of Lyons, by introducing new tafte and new defigns. " Manufactures have refifted for a long time in Holland, the excefiive abundance of the currency, which commerce has, without ceafing, accumulated, and which has necef- i'arily become the fcourge of their manufac- tures, particularly of thoie which require the mofi labour and induftry, or which are not fupported by a great internal confu tion, as the filk fluffs. The fobriety of Dutch, and that of the French, become the fame in Holland ; and the (mall profits, with which the Dutch merchants are con- tented, have fuftained for a long time thole manufactures in a flouriihing ftate. But the dearneis HOLLAND. 229 tfeamefs of labour, occafioned by the abun- dance of money, and the taxes upon houfes, and upon all the neceflaries of life, has much hurt their manufactures, and even tends towards their destruction. There re- mains however, fbme fmall filk fabrics at Haerlem, which the interior conlumptioii maintains ; but which are weakly animated, from the competition of the limilar manu- factures of France, and which it is very dif- ficult for the republic to prevent the entry of. The other wrought fluffs richer, from a more complicated labour, have in many places flopped, even for the home confump- tion, in favour of thofe of France ; and which is owing more to the cheapnefs of the latter, than to Superiority of tafle, defign, or exaclnefs in the execution of them. " Commerce has rendered lace important,' and induflry has perfected the art of makino- it. It is become the ornament, and the dii- play of riches, after having been one of the iigns of poverty : neverthelefs, mew alone would not iupport the cuftom, but there is a kind of oeconomy extended to laced cloths. The luxurious expence is more confiderable in thofe that are plain. The French, who know well how to be induflrious, and ta render their induflry of value, have given to Q^3 their 230 TRAVELS THROUGH their lace manufactures all the advantages of the greateft reputation, particularly for lightnefs, brilliancy, defign, and tafte, Paris believes herfelf to be unrivalled in her gold laces, and Lyons in thofe of filver. The city of Amfterdam has endeavoured to par- take of thefe advantages, " It it generally agreed, that it is the thread of the filver of Lyons, which gives the lace the greatefr. whitenefs and brilliancy : thev attribute this fuperior quality of their thread over that of Paris and Amfierdam, to tho waters of the Rhine, by which the workmen can only give a blueifh white ; and they pretend, that this is the reafon which gives to Lyons the excluiive privilege of trading in the fineft filver thread. It is not the fame with that of gold. That of Paris and Am- fterdam have different qualities : the colour of the Paris gold is more folid ; that of Am- sterdam has more of the vermillion, more eclat ; and the Paris gold being weightier, is dearer than that of Amfierdam, and, in fine, has eftablifhed her lace at a higher price, without deferving to be more valued, all other things being equal. The lace fabrics, which are at preient very few in number, draw their gold thread from Amfierdam, #nd their filvex from Lyons ; but their laces can HOLLAND. 231 can hardly fupport the competition with thofe of France. It is yet, neverthelefs, a branch of foreign commerce, particularly the gold thread of Amfterdam. " The cloth manufactures of Levden and Utrecht, fupport their reputation : the fuper- fines are as good and as fine as thole in fo- reign manufactures, and the blacks of Utrecht are always fuperior ; the camlets of Levden equal thofe of Bruflels. There are of this fort two manufactures united,. The ratteens preferve alfo their antient repu- tation ; but the dearnefs of theie manufac- tures reduces them entirelv to the home confumption. There is a difference between thefe fabrics and thofe of France, of the countries of Limburg, Verviers, Aix la Chapelle, and Juliers, of nine or ten per cent, which is in foreign markets an im- menfe diladvantage to the manufactures of Holland ; this difadvantage to them is in, common with thofe of England in the lame ]dnds. " The neceflities of commerce have intro- duced among all maritime nations manu- factures of cordage, and it is without doubt one of the mofr antient in Holland. Riga, Koningiburgh, Memel, and St. Peteriburgh* furniih almoft all nations ; and it is more in Q 4 this 23? TRAVELS THROUGH this cordage, that the Dutch trade with the Southern nations, than in their own manu- factures, which can iearcely furnifh the im- menfe confumption of their own marine. " The manufactures of linens in the pro- vinces of Groningen, Frizeland, and Over- yffel, are always equally iupported. The fabrics of France, Flanders, and Germany, make none that even approaches them. The linens which are called Dutch, are diftin- guiihed as much by the whitenefs, the fine- nefs, the grain, the equality, and the good- nefs, as by being mealured by the ell, or the manner of folding ; the moft famous whiten- ing grounds in Europe are at Haerlem ; they rive to their linens the luftre and fine white that diiiinguiihes them ; they alfb enable the Dutch merchants to appropriate to themf elves foreign manufactures, which they buy in Weitphr.lia, in the coi ntry of Juliers, in Flanders, and in Brabs.it, and which being whitened at Haerlem. are pro- duced in commerce under the name of Dutch linens ; for this whitening adds a new price to the linen when it is of a good fabric : they take care in this whitening, without the aiiilTance of any regulation, not to give to the linens an artificial length, as we know is done in the whitening grounds of HOLLAND. 275 of Flanders, by rolling them on boards: a lucrative article, but which degrades their linens by entirely altering their quality ; they turn them at Haerlem only by hand, and they ufe the allies of the very belt, qua- lity. • " The manufactures of paper are in a flou- rifhing flate. It is furprizing, that they have been able to fuftain themfelves, fince they have been multiplied fb greatly in France, and in the Auftrian Provinces ; and especially in countries, where the price of labour is low, which is a vail advantage in a manufacture that employs a great number of hands. Theie manufactures, which have been recently raifed and multiplied, have given a fenfible flroke to thofe of Holland, lince the exportation of rags, of old linen, (which is the raw material) has been vigo- roufly prohibited in France, and the Au- ftrian Provinces. It is neverthelefs one of the mofr, precious manufactures which the republic has, as well for the home conlump- tion, which is immenfe, as in furniihing an exportation ; .and this manufacture fupports itfelf as well as others, for this very fimple reaibn,the manufacturers content themfelves with a very fmall profit, having no better means of making greater by their money. " The gft TRAVELS THROUGH " The exportation of money from Europe for paying for the manufactures of India, (an exportation which is a reproach to the trade) is already much diminifhed, and de- creafes every cay by the progrefs of indui- trv of the fame fort in Europe. We ought hence to regard the manufacture of porce- lane as one of the moil precious to Europe. Among the great number of modern manu- factures, which European indultry has railed in our time, in imitation of thole of the In- dies, are thofe of plain muflins, ftriped and bordered, which they make in Switzerland, and in France ; linens of white cotton, and printed linens, which furpafs thofe of the In- dies in beauty, tafte, and variety of defign ; pekins, fattins, damaiks, gourgourans, cir- fakas, armoifms, and other fluffs, which equal all the patterns we have had from the Indies. The iuccefs of all thele manufac- tures is fo great and happy, in continually deiiroving in Europe the ule of the Indian . rics, and reducing the importation of mer- chandize from the Eaft Indies, to materials necefiary for fupplying our indultry, to drugs and commodities which luxury coniumes. The commerce of the Indies, which uied to be regarded as infinitely mikhicvovis to our indultry, will foon be- come HOLLAND. 235 come one of the branches of the trade of Europe, which will furnim numbers of its people with the means of fubfiitence. " The porcelane of the Eaft Indies has been, for a long fucceffion of years, one of the articles of importation of Indian manu- factures, which carried away moft money from Europe ; and the progrefs of our in- duftry, in imitating this article, is fuch at prefent., that this particular exportation of our money is alinoft destroyed ; for the por- celane of China and Japan can no longer fuftain the competition with thofe of Sax- ony, Vienna, Hoechft in the Electorate of Mentz, Furften burgh, Seves, Louifburg, Munich, Spain, Bareith Anfpach, Franken- dal, Copenhagen, Berlin, Tournay, and Wefep near Amfterdam. " The Indian porcelane had for a long time, the advantage or a roundnefs and proportion, always equal. We cannot yet find in Eu- rope partes, which, like thofe of the Indies, preferve equally well their dimenfions in the fire ; or in which the dimenfions given to vafes geometrically, refill the action of the fire ; but this advantage, which is not generally apparent, and which, beiides, draws the attention only of connoiileurs, Cannot balance the fuperiority of rafte, the variety 236 TRAVELS THROUGH variety of forms, the variety and beauty of the deiigns, and the painting of the Euro- pean porcelaoe. u That which has been eftablifned and fupported by M. the Count de Gronsrleld, at Welep, equals (in ipite of all the obitaclcs, which the dearneis of labour, and the little Subordination that can be found in a repub- lic, oppofed to the eftabliihment) the others in form and tafte, and by virtue of the fecret of a fuperior pafte, gives it a greater merit. A nation fo indufnious as the Dutch, ought to take part, and diftinguiin itielf in this new effort of European induifry, and in a fort of manufacture, in which iuccefs re- quires great ceconomy, and a tafre very re- fined in defis;n and form. " The manufacture of porcelane at Wefep, which is already known, is come to produce its works i:: public, by the t: ment of a magazine at the Hague, with all the vantages of richnefs, ... f abundance in the;. But if it is iuperior in the white, and the pafte, to ail other mar/. >, if it has aho the advantage of iupport- ing the nre without experiencing the lame ition as the other European manurac- tures, we mult, not difiemble that it has a with which all man uractures of por- celane HOLLAND. 2J7 celane i^re reproached, which is the inequa- lity of beauty. This imperfection might perhaps be regarded with much indulgence, or be considered either as an advantage to the public, becaufe we know there are effa- bliihed in the manufacture of Weefp different prices, proportioned to the degrees of this imperfection. In general, all magazines of the merchandize of luxury ought to be fort- ed, not only into different kinds, but alio to the different qualities, and the different prices in the fame kinds, for equally anfwering the tafte and the abilities of purchafers. Hence the impofiibility, at prefent, found in all manufactures of porcelane, of producing only what is perfect. The public has now the power of purchafing pieces of the fame form and tafte, and for which a low price is an equivalent for the defects ; befides, thefe defects make little impreffion on a great number buyers, who rather leek cheapnefs than perfection ; and it is the fale of thefe pieces, which are not of the firft beauty, that fupports all the porcelane manufactures. Thofe who would pique themfelves on pro- ducing nothing but what was perfect, bv vigorously breaking every piece that had any defect, as was the cafe heretofore in the manufav.Q zj* TRAVELS THROUGH manufacture at Seves, fall necefTarily into an excefiive dearnefs. " Camphire, vermillion, brimftone, borax, azure, pitch, rofin, fpermaceti, fait, and fu- g r, and the refining all thefe, employ many hands, and furnifh much for exportation : that of fait is of great benefit to the republic, the Auftrian Netherlands, the countrv of Liege, and fome other territories of Ger- The fugar refineries have loft much bv die competition of thofe that have been led on all fides ; but others have been gained by the progrefs of the colonies of Berbices, and Surinam, which furnifh at prefent thefe refineries, that ufed to import Da France. It is an equal matter to the rehners, but very different to the republic. iC The whitening of wax is alfo very valua- ble to Holland, for her commerce with in, where the Dutch carry much ; alfo the ftarch manufacture, which works much for exportation. M The oil and faw-mills are verv rich ob- _: f:-. although they employ but few hands: t:.e home confumption oi oil of coleieed, and alio of planks, is very confiderable. Thefe $wo articles furnifh alfo a very great expor- CatioQ. Holland produces but little cole- feed, but draws much from Brabant, and from Flanders. The planks of oak, which the HOLLAND. «59 the Dutch draw from the Palatinate by the Rhine, are a branch of very rich commerce with France, where they are called the Woods of Hollands, from making the whole coniumption ; the Dutch uie in their houfes, and in all their works of wood, only planks of pine and fir, becaule their varnifh and extreme neatnefs preferve them for a long time found. " But the manufacture of all others the mod important, the moft exteniive, the moll rich, and the moft neceffary, is the contrac- tion, of mips. The timber yards of the Ad- miralty, and the Company of the Indies, are immeufe, but they are not comparable to thofe of the village of Sardam, which Peter the Great chofe as the firft fchool in Europe, for the conftruction of all forts of naval buildings ; and where he remained a long time unknown, in the quality of a fimple workman, for the inftruction of himfelf, and for railing a marine in his vaft Empire. The works of this village are fuch, that ti has been faid, that if the (hip-btiiMers have three months notice, they would engage to launch a man of war every day. The re- public pays foreigners for all the materials of this immenie conftrucYion ; but com- merce is well able to make the cxpcnce re- turn z^c TRAVELS THROUGH turn to the State, both of thofe raw mate* rials, and alio of the workmanfhip, by means ■of freight, which is the fir it bale of all the commerce of the republic, and the branch the moil; extenilve, and the moft rich. Af- ter having determined the fize, the burthen, and the form of a ihip, according as the branch of commerce requires for which it is deftined, there ought to be an extreme at- tention to the goodnefs of it, which depends immediately on the ability and the fidelity of the builder ; alio on the goodnefs of the materials, that is to fay, the iron, the wood, the cordage, and the 1. " In general, the perfection of all merchant* men con lifts in being of a great burthen, and the ability of navigating with the lead expence that is poflible : a merchant ihip ought to fail well, to be eafily managed, to carry her fails well, to have eafy movements, to contain much merchandize, and ought not to re- quire a too numerous crew. Bur it is not eafy to fee a ihip with all thefe qualities. It is much mere difficult ftill, to find a method of conftruclion capable of giving them all. The defects, even the efiential defects, efcape the view. The eye h deceitful, lays M. du 1 there is rach little difference between a good ihip and a midling one, that it HOLLAND. 141 it happens fbmetimes, when two fhips are upon the flocks, that to which we give the preference is found much inferior to the other which we look upon with a kind of contempt. In efFect, how can the eye judge accurately, if the keel be proportioned to the weight of an armed fhip ? How can the iim- ple inlpection tell us, if the fize of the head and ftern are proportioned to the weight which each of thole parts ought to carry ? If neverthelefs this proportion is not well ob- ferved, me finks too much either behind or before ; and if this fault is corrected by the ballaft, &c. the movements will be rough, and will wear the mailing. How habituated mufl we be to fee in fhips, adds M. du Ha- mel, where precifely to afiign the pofition of the centre of gravity, the true curve of the water lines, &c ? It is neverthelefs from all thefe, and many other things, that are difficult to be perceived, on which depend the good or bad qualities of fhips : they may make them wanting in every particular, or pofleffed of every good quality we can de- fire. " They approach, in the Dutch conftruc- tion, to the ■ exa&neis of all thefe points of knowledge, as far as they can be permitted by the nature of the commerce of Holland, Vol. I. R and 24* TRAVELS THROUGH and by her ports. They particularly excel in the management and lightneis of the manoeuvres, which give a great advantage in the market, and alio for the iecurity of na- vigation. " It is neverthelefs to bewifhed, that they adopted in Holland the cuftom of the En- glish, who have obliged their mip-builders to prefent their plans of con ft ruction to the Admiralty, for obtaining their approbation. A cuftom lo wife, to which the Engliih owe the general advantage of their coiiftruction, would perhaps immediately carry in Hol- land the art of conftru&ing fhips to the moil high degree of perfection, and give great advantages to commerce, and in the remit, be of infinite good to human nature. It is much lefs difficult to make choice of oood materials. The fame lpecies of wood, of different degrees of goodnels, follows in courie. In general, the timber of the South is better than that of the North, and thofe which grow upon the mountains are fuperior to iuch as are upon the lower grounds. Different foils, different expolitions and age, give different qualities ; timber decayed, da- maged, or too old, are bad for fhip building. M. de Button has made an infinity of expe- riments for diicovering the ftrength of wood : HOLLAND. 243 wood : That of the branches, and the fum- mit of the trunk of a tree is the weakeft : all young timber is weaker than that more ad* vanced in age : wood, which is elaftic, refills more than that which is not : of timber on the fame land, that which grows the quicken1: is the ftrongeft, and that which grows (low- ly, and of which the annual circles are thin, is the weakefr. You may eaiily reckon, upon the tranfverfe cut of the trunk, the number of annual circles, which are dif- tinctly feparated one from another, and which increafe in the tree every year. M» de Buffon has found, that the ftrength of wood is proportioned to its weight ; a piece that is heavier than another of the fame length and irze, will be found ftronger for the fame reaibn. We might, purfuant to this obfervation, compare the force of the wood of different countries and different foils. It is above all in the curbs, where the ftrength cannot be too great, for rendering the conftrutftion folid, as they ferve to fallen together the whole mip. An application of M. Buffon's obfervation might here be very ufeful. " Soft iron mould be chofen. It is par- ticularly important, that the iron of the pins mould never break : a good builder will tile R 2 none 24+ TRAVELS THROUGH none but what he has proved. We do not at prefent know any iron that has more good qualities for the uie of the marine than that of Spain and Sweden. Although great per- fection has been given to the furnaces of France and Germany, yet the Spanifh and Swedifh iron always has the preference. " xA.n immenie quantity of cordage is ufed in rigging a fhip : they diftinguiih particu- larly that which is made from the hemp of Koningfburg, and Mufcovy. The firfr. is eftimated at /Vmfterdam at twenty per cent, better. That of Riga is inferior to that of Koningtburg by four per cent. The fail cloth of Bretagne, particularly that known under the name of royales, has been a long time reputed as the bell: for making fails ; but they manufacture at prefent a good fort almoir. everv where. " All thefe points of knowledge are ne- cefYarv for inch foreign merchants as build fhips in Holland, that proper materials be purchafed for the conftruction, in the orders given to their correfpondents ; alio to na* tional merchants, for their conduct in build- ing well, whether on their own account, or for that of foreigners, who purchale them, independently of the conftruction. Hol- land is always the > CHAR IX. Of the Agriculture of Holland. ALL the world knows, that hufbandry is not the great national objed in Holland, but trade and manufactures. Their territory is very fmall, on companion with the numbers of their people ; fo that an ap- plication to the arts and induftry is neceflarv tbr procuring the inhabitants necefiaries. The quantity of land alio was originally under fuch peculiar circumflances, that the wealth, which flowed in from trade and ma.- nufachires, could alone render the practice of any hufbandry advantageous. The lbil is of two ibrts,good and bad; and fo unhap- pily fituated was the Dutch, that the former was only to be gained and preferved by vail monuments of their induftry, the banks, which preferve all the lower and bell land; from being overflowed ; for the higher tracts of Frizeland, Overyflfel, Guelderland, and Zutphen, contain in general a very great proportion of waile and poor fandy ibib. This :56 TRAVELS THROUGH This proportion is greater than commonly imagined, and was fo when the Republic was undoubtedly in a more flourifhing fitua- tion than at prefent. Davenant tells us, and in all thefe- matters he is undeniable autho- rity, that in 1688 they had 8,000,000 of Englifh acres^ which lett with houies and hereditaments at 4,ooo,oool. Now this is only ten millings an acre, houfes included, in a country amazingly full of cities ; and this mult vaflly reduce that ten millings per acre, probably to fix millings, or at moft to ieven millings, which is a very extraordi- nary fact, and mews that the feat of im- menfe wealth, vaft trade, and flourifhing manufactures, though they iecured the foil by banks, yet did but little in railing the va- lue of land. It was fo crowded with inha- bitants, that they reckon but 3 \ acres per head ; and yet the foil they inhabited lett at lefs than in England or France at that time ; this is a moll: curious fact, and well deferves the attention of politicians. Nume- rous writers have infilled on the infinite be- nefits anting to land, from a great trade and flourifhing fabrics ; but this of Holland is an inftance to (hew, that in all thefe general ideas, there mould ever be a great latitude for exceptions. Upon the firlt ftating the propolition, HOLLAND. 257 proportion, that a country was Co thickly in- habited as to reckon lefs than four acres per head ; and the people, the moll: wealthy in Europe, full of trade, arts, and manufactures, and infinitely indultrious, would not any one conclude, that the foil mull: lett at very high rents r Certainly this would be the na- tural idea : what therefore is the reafon, that land is, upon an average, of a low value, un- der thefe united circumltances, which mould tend fo powerfully to raife its price ? The cafe, I conceive, is this ; land in ge- neral is very low rented ; but, in particular provinces, which are fullelt of people and and riches, it letts as high as any where in Europe : the fmall extent of the whole do- minion is no objection to this fact ; the peo- ple at large are affected by circumftances, which have no connection with their inter- nal agriculture. It has always been the po- licy of Holland, to have in conftant If ore immenfe quantities of corn in magazines, which they buy when the prices are low at Dantzick and London. They import much of the provilions of Ireland* lalted beef and butter in particular : cheefe comes from va- rious parts ; and live cattle, in prodigious numbers, from Denmark and Holltein. Add to this, that their fifheries are the molt con- Vol. I. S iiderable z:< TRAVELS THROUGH deferable in Europe, not only that of whaL:- which produces nothing for food, but het- rings, cod, &c. Sec. which feed amazing its of their people. Importations are well known to be io regular and great, that a famine, or even a great icarcity was hei known in Holland, though thev do not raife a f fth, or perhaps a tenth of the corn thev eat ; and in no other country, is the price of wheat io regular as in this. * Now it muft be very evident, that all thefe circumftances cannot but have ftrong effects in lowering the prices of all land products ; for every firmer in Poland and Zealand, a rival to thole of Holland ; no commoditv raifed by the latter, can ever be at an high, price, while magazines are ftored from abroad, whenever prices are cheap; and the importations are very great and numer- ous, the products in which the Dutch hui- bandmen are not rivalled, are verv few. Milk, frefh butter, eggs, and butchers meat, are .the only articles : eheeie, corn of ail forts, fait butter, &c. &c. are all brought from abroad. This is the reafon that the rents- and value of land in Holland are, on an average, fo verv low, but it will poiTiblv admit of an enquiry, whether thev do not carry their importation too far. If it be faid that HOLLAND. 259 that land products are dear in Holland, and therefore this importation is neceflary : I re- ply, that this dearneis all arifes from high excifes, not an egg., or a pound of butchers meat, but what pays an exche, and lome things feveral. This rife of price is not to the advantage of the farmers and graziers, but all goes into the pocket of the ftate and the retailer. As to the rich grafs lands, which I have mentioned feveral times, in the courfe of my journey, they are principally in the very populous province of Holland, near great towns, or on the banks of canals ; thefe lett1 at high rates, from fueh of their productions felling at very high prices as cannot be ri- valled from abroad, or any where eiie ; and fome of them are of fuch great natural fer- tility, that it is alone a fufficient caufe. And here I mould further remark, that whatever receives moft encouragement from the ftate, is fure moft to profper, (trade be- ing the great object in Holland) manufac- tures are greatly attended to, thefe have con- fequently prolpered ; but as to agriculture, and a landed intereft, they make it totally iubmit and be fubfervient to every other : for the importation of corn, and other pro- visions, is ruinous to the farmer, but is not S 2 regarded :i-> TRAVELS THROUGH regarded here, becaufe an object of com- merce. This conduct, I muft obferve, is, upon the whole, luitable to the fituation and interefts of the Republic ; Nature, and a for- tune almoft as rugged, has crammed them into a neglected marfh, which nothing but an induftry like theirs could make the ha- :i of an independent nation. In iuch a itate, trade and navigation, fiineries, and manufactures, could only iupport them, and particularly aiiift their hrll: naval expedi- tions againit their old mailers the Spaniards: thefe, therefore, they wiiely engaged in with A their firength and ardour ; but as to agri- culture, of what benefit could it principally be to a nation, that had not land enough to render themielves thereby independent r Ne- ceffity drove the Hollanders to trade : but had a genius more extenlive than that of Lvcurgus, or of IMontelquieu, dictated to them a choice, without recurring to necel- iitv, it would have been wrhat neceiiity drove them to. Induftry will ever make the greateit figure in thofe ungrateful ipots that de: »ry thing to idlenels : a numerous people, id fuch filiations, muft either be in- duftrious or itarve : this is a principal of ac- tion fuperior to every thing. In a word, agriculture has been lb little thought of, or attended HOLLAND. 261 attended to, that the value which fome tracks of land in Holland have arrived at, has been owing merely to the effects of that wealth which commerce has poured in. The great fuccefs of the Dutch in trade, has fet iiich an example to the other nations of Europe, that all are equally eager in co- pying her ; but herein there appears too great a neglect of thofe elientiahdiitinclions, which are often found between different countries. France, England, Sweden, and Ruflia, have very coniiderable territories, or property in land, confequently they ought to pay a much greater attention to agricul- ture than this Republic, whole land is con- temptible compared with theirs ; but all theie powers, particularly France and Eng- land, have imitated the Dutch io nearly as to neglect their agriculture, and in moil: cafes lacrificed it to the interefts of their commerce. This has certainly been very falfe politics : for that conduct, which necef- iity and wildom made expedient and benefi- cial to a territory of only" eight millions of acres, might iurely be very improper to a dominion of eighty or an hundred millions : Had the Dutch given ever fuch attention to the improvement of their lands, they would never, by their airiftance, have become a S3* great 262 TRAVELS THROUGH great and powerful nation, nor even an in- dependent one ; but this is quite another matter with nations rich in exteniive ter- ritory. An Englifh writer of great reputation, Sir W. Petty, published a book in King Charles, the Second's reign, which was at the period of the height of the Dutch power, and the purport of which was, to exhibit them as an example to his countrymen ; attempting to prove, that the only way to grow great and formidable, was to be all merchants and Jailors ; that a landed territory was of no ufe unlefs full of people; that Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, mould, if it was practicable, be funk in the ocean, after concentring all the inhabitants in England ; all which fenti- ments, and many others of the lame fort, were a mere paraphrafe on the fortune of this Republic ; but nothing could be more erroneous than fuch a fvilem, than volun- tarily choofmg a fituation, which ncceflity threw the Hollanders into : the wile Dutch- men, had they inherited luch kingdoms as England, Scotland, and Ireland, would not have purfued the fame politics they practifed in the marmes of the Netherlands. For theie reaions, the great landed king- doms of Europe feem not fully to know their own HOLLAND. 263 own interefts, when they are {o eager in the puriuit of trade and commerce, and manu- factures for exportation, as to iacrifice the at- tention to, and advancement of agriculture. It is the error of fhort-iighted politicians, to carry their meafures too far : great power and great wealth, in union, may do wonders, hut there is more merit and more genius in pro- perly difcriminating objects, and in dividing the attention among them, in proportion to their relpective improvements, than in boldly determining to create. The employments of a people ihould always depend on the ter- ritory they inhabit, and the nature of their purfuits ihould he taken from the climate and lituation. Induitry may certainly be as active, and carry a nation to as high a pitch of power and wealth, when pufhed on upon thefe natural principles, as it is poifible to arrive at from oppoiing nature, or from a boundlefs defire of rendering every thing artificial. Need I obferve, that the wealth and power, which flow from the one, can hardly fail of being as permanent as the cir- cumitances of the age will allow, while thofe of the other mult, in their nature, be preca- rious and mort-lived. But to return : In the agriculture of Holland, the rich.- ncls of their paftures is to be noted, and the S 4 great 264 TRAVELS THROUGH great attention they give to the management of their cattle ; thele are particulars I have often mentioned. They are very fond of the culture of tobacco, and that of madder ; upon which it is to be obferved, that as the huibandmen are rivalled, in the manner I have juit let forth, whenever they raife the neceflaries of life, it is not to be wondered at, that they fhould find thofe articles lei's advantageous than thole of tobacco and mad- der : their only defign in cultivation, is to raile as much money from a given quantity of land as pomble ; and the ftate takes no account of providing food at home for their numerous lubjects, lo that a man may cul- tivate what he pleafes ; thefe are beneficial to them, but madder, in particular, they raife not onlv enough for their own home consumption, which in their linen and cot- ton manufactures is a vaft quantitv, but alio for the manufactures of the fame fort throughout England ; but at Marseilles, they are rivalled by the madder imported from Turkey. Refpecting the wafte lands of Holland, and other parts of their hufbandry, I have given feveral minutes, that will tend much to explain them ; but the following paflage, from a late writer publifhed at Amfterdam, dele rye j HOLLAND. 26$ deferves tranflating. " The inland pro- vinces, particularly thofe of Guelderland, the marfhes of Boifleduc, and the Barony of Breda, prefent the obierver with fourfcore leagues ofwafte land, entirely fuiceptible of a good improvement and culture, and of which the breaking up would be attended with the greateft iuccefs, if it was under- taken, and iiipported by the government on proper principles : this would be giving to the Republic the value of a new province. The detail, in which we are about to enter, authorizes us to conlider this object, as one of the moit intereiting to the fhite, upon which much depends the prolperity of po- pulation and commerce, and is the moil wor- thy the attention and the care of adminis- tration. M Theie wafle lands produce, in many places, herbage in abundance, and particularly broom. There are iome fmall parts broken up within theie 10, 15, or 20 years, equal at preient in goodnefs to the neighbouring lands that have been long cultivated. The com- mon productions of the improved lands are wood, oak, rye, oats, and Saracen wheat; and the cultivators obferve, that rive or fix years of culture are neceflary to make theie new lands equal to the old ones in culture. All 266 TRAVELS THROUGH All the neighbouring lands that have been long cultivated, are very light and fendj, and of the lame nature as thofe that are waife : they produce very fine rye, barley, oats, Saracen corn, clover, potatoes, carrots, turnips, and ipurry grafs. The culture of this lafl is thoroughly known only in a part of Brabant, named Campine, in the three Guelders, and the Duchy of Cleves. In Cleves, they cut this herb, and dry it on their vine props ; and it thus makes the bell; hay that is given to beafts. " The ufe which might be made of this plant demands an obiervation : it is a fpecies of the white pimpernel ; it throws out many ilalks to the height of about a foot. Bo- tanies, who throw it under the title of Sper- iiula, have obferved, that it increafes in the fields, corn, and grafs, principally in Flan- ders and in England ; that cows give much milk when fed on it ; and that it contains a moderate quantity of an efl'ential fait and oil. In the Campine, the three Guelders and Cleves, they low the fpurry immediately af- ter the crop of corn. This herb, which is very fine and delicate, increafes rapidly, and gives a very fat pafturage for cows, who they tie to flakes in it, and it lafts them three months. They afiert, that this plant, whofe> verdure HOLLAND. 267 verdure is like that of flax juft come up, meli- orates the laud ; at leaft, it is ftrongly averred, that it does not exhauft it, as they have con- ftantly in Guelders fbwncorn on thefameland after it. It is to this herb that they attribute the abundance and good quality of the butter of Campine : it is alio, during the growth of this plant, that the butter of Guelders is the bell: of all Holland. Perhaps much greater advantages might be drawn from this plant, which yields fo quickly an excellent pa£ turage, if it was better known. They might introduce it in the manner of the ar- tificial grafles upon the wafte lands, or, as permanent pafture, it might be very ufeful. But at prefent, they leave this paflure, af- ter the crop, only till the end of October or the beginning of November, which is the time when they plough their lands for {owing rye or other grain. They might afiure themielves, by observation and experience of greater advantages from this artificial pafture, which perhaps is not of fo fhort duration, were not the cultivators ignorant or indolent. " Judgment may be made of the fuccefs, which might reafonably be expected from well managed improvements of wafte land, by the example of the method of culture which is praetifed on the neighbouring lands ; z63 TRAVELS THROUGH lands ; by obferving the manner in which the inhabitants of villages, the moil accui- tomed to break them up, manage from time to time their portions, and by the produc- tions which the lands of fuch villages vield, that have once been thus broken up. The lands which are perfectly cultivated, are never fallowed. They fow fpurry or turnips, and after gathering the product, throw in corn the beginning of November. The manure they employ on thefe lands is the dung of cows, turf allies, and the turf which they cut upon the commons, with what they make by littering their beails. This laft manure is not in much efteem, it has but a moderate effect from being lb ill prepared. There are few examples of fuch bad culture, as that given to moll of thefe cultivated lands. They plough only once, half a foot deep ; then they pafs over the land thus til- led, a light harrow ; and to this they bound the preparation of the earth for receiving the feed of rye, barley, or oats, &c. They fow no wheat, becaule, they fay, their lands are not ftrpng enough for it. There is however no doubt, but that thefe huibandmen do i\ot give the tillage, dunging, and other prepara- tions, which are requitite for wheat. There are fome cantons, where the lords of the ma- nors HOLLAND. .269 nors do fow wheat. Thefe do not give more than two ploughings to their lands, and by this (ingle preparation at molt, get them into abetter ftate than the others. But thev j themfelves complain, that even this culture, imperfect as it is, is too expenfive : this com- plaint is owing to a want of good markets. " The wafte lands are generally of die fame quality as thofe that are cultivated. Both have a depth of three or four feet, ge- nerally a grey land or a black one, fbft, moift to the touch, and mixed with mould: cul- ture alone makes a difference. They have neither clay nor marie, unlefs perhaps thev find it at a very great depth ; but they find a clayey loam in lbme places at three feet and an half. The woods are oak, rir, elm, and in fome places beech, all which are found in the lands improved. The methods of improving, followed at prelent by the neighbouring inhabitants, coniift in railing the turf, which they carry home, either for burning or converting into manure, and af- terwards ploughing; the land. They limit themfelves to one ploughing, whether for lowing corn or wood ; in the laft caie, they leave it for eighteen or twenty years, at that age they deft my it, and break it up anew, when they rind it coniiderably ameliorated. It z-o TRAVELS THROUGH It is thus that they treat, : : :lme% : lmall portions of tli-: ■ . en- tries'. By this manner of or. > them up, and by the Cuitom of iimitinj ; . ... culture to one tingle ploughing, t do not become equal tot: till kept in a courie of manage::, a : :" r five. or iix years: the rcaibn, without doubt they do not give the tillage m one y \ ceflary for doing the buiinefs with efl They know not the ni :ie, nor : h I of fainfoine, but only that of clover, which fuccceds in iome cantons. It is certai this land mail: be naturally v. J fertile, giving its product after an ::. merit fo lightly made, after aiingle ploug. little dung. If we only coniult the v ciples, which the theory of the art : : culture preients us, for following rigorouily in the practice, we fhall become tempted on the firlt inspection of the land, to neglect it, becaufe that theory regards the clafs of fandv foils as almoft ilerile ; but the land, which predominates here, is not the flying burning fand that devours the feed com. ted to it, and renders uielefs all the efforts of the farmer, or fuch, that if it yields at length to induitry, it is not till after a : icity of manures and orach expence ; the land of H O L L A N D. 271 of the wafte lands is here the fame as that which predominates in the heft neigiibour- mglands under good culture; or, to {peak hetter, the wafte foils and the lands, culti- vated in the environs to a great diuance, are all the lame. Nothing but cultivation makes the difference; for in all, the fand predominates almoft equallv. The produc- tions which the improved lands give, by the aflifrance only of one ploughing, feem to authorize us to believe them iufceptihle of as great fertility as the bell: lands around thele villages. We have other proofs, that all the walte lands do at leaft approach them m the principles of fertility, which thev contain, and are nearlv equal in the compar- rilon with other lands, cultivated in the neighbourhood of the towns. " The experience of wells, made in the waile lands in different dihYicts, turns out the lame as in fertile foils. But we are not limited to this fingle experiment for itating the fertility of this great extent of country : an improvement of foch importance will not permit us to neglect any proofs of the fucceis which ought to attend it, if we can underftand them. It is always an encourage- ment which prefents itfelf to individuals, who, by their iituation and their fortune, are in 0ft TRAVELS THROUGH in a ftate of undertaking fome parts. It is well known, that we may allure ourfelves of the principles of fertility, contained in thele foils, bv a view of them in a lye, and alio by calcination, and by comparing them with the lands, of whofe fertility we are affured by the fruits yielded every day. " We have tried this proof of wafle land, taken from a heath, and the fame quantity of foil cultivated by the fide of that heath, and of the fame depth. The heath furnifhed onlv a poor pafturage ; and its foil contained nothing but fand. This land is black, moift, and humid to the touch, mixed with earth, and limilar to other lands in the country that are wafte. We have found alwavs the fame in the lame iuperficies to more than three feet depth ; where is- . found' a yellow and gravelly fand. The land, by the fide of it, in culture, is exactly the fame, except only this difference, that the yellow and gravelly fand is found at a foot and half of depth ; and this land, which from infpection appears to be very bad, pro- duces every year a crop of wheat, and one of turnips, and with dunging only once in two years. 4t An equal quantity of the cultivated toil, and of the wafte, feparately calcined in a violent HOLLAND. 273 violent fire, and feparately warned, filtered, and evaporated, have given each a fmall quantity of calcarions and ialine matter. The land cultivated has given a little more of the nitrous fait, which is the natural ef- fect of culture, and of what it receives from manures. " We have alfo fubmitted to the fame procefs, and made an examination of lands from waftes taken from five different can- tons, far removed from one another, and from the depth of two feet, in fpots which appeared the leait fertile, and we have found the lame quality of foil as in three and four feet depth. " The land from No. 1, covered with the herb called heath, gave a greater quantity of fait of nitre than the reit. " That from No. 2, although more fandy, and of a greyer colour, yielded the lame re- iult. " That from No. 3 was not fo black, fandy, or light as No. 1 and 2, but gave more fait, and it crackled more when thrown upon live coals. " The land of No. 4, on which oak* grow well, gave a vitriolic and feruginous matter, but lets fait. Vol. I. T " That 274 TRAVELS THROUC IT " That of No. 5 proved exactly the fame as No. 2. " All thefe lands have given more {alt than others firft tried, and are all at leaft equal in goodnefs to thofe in culture, whole fertility cannot be doubted. " Although the family of the gramens is commonly extremely numerous upon wafte .lands, that which infallibly announces a fer- tile foil is not found much here ; the plant named erica by botanifls, known under the name of heath, feems to have alone appro- priated all thefe lands, at leaft it predomi- nates in them. " Erica is a fpecies of fmall fhrub, which throws out many ftalks to the height of a foot or a foot and an half, hard, woody, and of a red colour, .brown, or obfcure, garniihed with fmall leaves, rather hard and rough, but always green. Its root is woody and fcattered in the land. This plant increafes in waftes and in woods, and contains much fait and oil, which is a proof that the land which produces it might eafily be rendered fertile by a good culture. " All thefe wafte lands are in general light and fandy, a little moift, and loft to the touch. A foil of this nature cannot long preferve the humidity of rains and the dew, Holland. -7$ tlew, which are the firft inftruments in the nutrition of plants. They want thole olea- ginous particles which have much' influence in all fertility. Thefe lands require dung and chalk. Such aihTrance, joined to that of frequent ploughings, infures fertility. Thefe frequent ploughings mull: neceflarily reclaim infenfibly the greateit. part of the land which is found mixed with land, as being lighter. If the parts of thefe lands, which have been broken up from time to time, do not equal in goodnefs the neigh- bouring lands, after having been cultivated five or fix years, it is only becaufe they have given them but one ploughing a year. " It is evident from ftriking proofs, that the fertility of thefe lands is gre/>.t, and which appears from the examination of the nature of the foil, from that of their actual ftate, and from their various productions, rather than from the methods which have been taken in breaking up and cultivating them. " They cultivate very badly almofl all the neighbouring lands to thele waftes : fome, becaufe the commodities railed have not a quick conlumption, the inhabitants limiting their culture to the production of the necef- laries of their iubliitance; and others through T 2 indolence, TRAVELS T H ROl'G II indolence, or a defect in their abilities. The inhabitants do net profit of the facility with :h they might procure pafturage in abundance, and raife a commerce in cattle, . would much enrich them. Inftead of planting woods, and efhbliming artificial graiies, they give- into the deftrucHve prac- tice of burning Only btirfe cut from their heath . " This cuftcm is degenerated into an ".::: abufe; by carrying ofl cbn- tinuahv, they ralenfi Iv convert a great ex- tent of land to marih. There are already : tracks flooded in Winter. But this abufe, which might be eaiily remedied, is not an obstacle to improvements ; the lands them- 5, which r ufe has already con- verted intc marfh, might, for the molt part. turned to value. " There are no bad lands after markets are opened, and a great confumption found. If you give this a r. _z to a foil, you will infallibly make the country rich. " There are but two principal objections to vanquiili for rendering this great e: of count: v :'_ rtile, and productive of treafures^ which are the want of markets, and the tele vaft wafles, which - ion. Thefe two obfbcles might be HOLLA N D. 277 be attacked with fuccefs ; the one bv the le- giilative authority, the other by a wife and enlightened direction. " It is eaiy to open to all thefe lands a road to a great confumption. Their culture ihould be directed to the maintenance of as great a number of cattle as poilible, efpeci- ally in all the diftricts where the lands arc at a diftance from cities and navigation. Cattle transport themfelves at a little ex- pence to a great diftance ; the butter and cheefe, of which the carriage, is eaiy, are among the richefr. productions in Holland ; and they would furniih a great interior con- fumption, and alio an exportation. The maintenance of cattle is one of the molt pre- cious branches of agriculture, and it is very eaiy to make them thrive in new improved lands, (however moderate they may be fup- poied) with the ailiitance of artificial grafles. We may join to the keeping cattle, bees alfo, which cod nothing but a little care, and yield a very great product in almoit all the neighbourhood of thefe lands, where they are known to be kept ; but it is in all thefe countries an article of culture, fuf- ceptible of much greater perfection than is eaiy to attain to without the publication of T 3 instructions. 278 TRAVELS THROUGH instructions, equally fjmple and eaiy to be followed in practice.* "It is generally underftood at prefent, that commons of a great extent are contrary to population, and to the progrefs of agri- culture. It is neceftary in certain countries to preferve fome parts of fuch pafturage common, in order to favour the little far- mers in facilitating their multiplication1 of cattle. Thefe proportions of commons ought to be retrained to the farmers ability of properly flocking them. Upon fuch a fyflem, thefe commons, divided into farms, might be occupied by new families, who would * This is a juft observation, and very applicable to the wafte lands of England, Scotland, and Ireland : bees would prove of moft high advantage, if kept upon a large fcafe, by underftanding people ; but here and there a hive at a cottager's is all that is found at prefent. The remark alfo that cattle fhould be the great objeel in new improve- ments, is equally judicious ; fince, by their manure, they are the beft fupport of the farmers crops, and at the fame time are eafily converted to profit of whatever nature the country moft requires, whether it poffeffes or not the ad- vantages of navigation, and good roads. There is much ufe in ftudying the hints thrown out in fuch memoirs as th>3 ; becaufe they fhew what are the ideas of foreigners concerning their waftes ; and when they coincide with the opinions of the beft improvers at home, it is a ftrong prefumption that the general notion is well and truly founded. HOLLAND. 279 ■would, by their culture and their various works, raife a vail addition of wealth to the Hate. " Ought fuch a plan to be laid afide for any trivial objection, which men may make, authorized by the indifference with which they behold thefe vaft countries wafte ? Moft ofthofewho know them, agree, that the foil equals in goodnefs that of the belt, neigh- bouring ones that are cultivated. We have in effect proofs too ffriking of their fertility, and that they want nothing but hands for enriching a multitude of farmers, and the ffate. But fay they, we have not hands for the improvement : all our cultivators are employed in our good lands, you muff therefore give us men to break them up. " If the abbeys, too opulent and too nu- merous in the Auftrian Provinces, who have been enriched alone by the immenfe im- provements which they have antiently made* had been ffopped by the pretended want of hands, they would have remained in the nrft indigence of their inftitution : there would have been no inhabitants in the country which they have improved, and the cultivated lands, which they reclaimed from defarts, would not have been peopled at this day. The number of cultivators are equally T 4 proportioned, f So TRAVELS THROUGH proportioned, in the mo ft populous countries, to the extent of the lands in culture. The fame objection would therefore have pre- vented the draining of fome millions of acres of marfhes, which in our days have been done in Holland, and in Auftrian and French Flanders, in Artois, Picardy, and Poitou, &e. works which demand manvmore hands, and greater expences than breaking up heaths. The want of hands prevented none of thefe enterprizes, fo happy and fo ufeful ; and we may always obferve, that the culture of the other lands never fuffered the leaft diminution. We might add to thefe examples that of England, of which half the territory has been broken up and ame- liorated fmce the end of the laft century ; and where they prefer the treafures of a good culture to the miferable interefts of lmmcnfe commons. It is by this that that nation has fo confiderably augmented, in our days, her natural productions, and her territorial power. They have broken up in England lands as extenfive as what we occupy here, and many of a quality much inferior to ours; and it is principally with the affiirance of artificial grafles, that the Engiiin have infured the fuccefs of their improvements, and which has rendered, even HOLLAND. 281 even upon ungrateful foils, their agriculture the moll: flourilhing in Europe. If we can- not here impute the defect of culture to the quality of the land, lb neither can we rea- ibnably attribute it to the want of cul- tivators. " It is certain, that the bell: countries re- main wafte, when in want of labourers, and that the leafl fertile become abundantly rich by an afliduous labour ; but in the one and the other cafe, it is not in the want or num- ber of labourers that we muil feek the caufe of rterility or abundance. We fhall cer- tainly find the caufe of fterility, either in the excefs of taxes, or in a want of a market for the productions of the earth. The cultiva- tor abandons his profemon, when lie cannot procure a commodious lubliliance ; and that he can never find, when taxes devour the fruits of his labour, or carry off more than his fuperfluity ; nor when he cannot enjoy the fruits of his labour by an eaiy fale of his products, to procure thole commodities he wants for his comfortable fubiifrance. The farmer, who is forced to lay up the fruits which he cannot fell, will be unable to pro- cure hlmieif cloaths, &c. and is forced to abandon a fertile country, to go elfewhere for the neceflaries of life. It is this which renders t9a T R A V E L S T K R 0 U G H :t certain countries, where it is i earth, m order to c crops in abundance. But if a mark :h a country, it; is prefentiy gov For it is with agricu:: is the fir It .id encouragement. 1 then I ri tha g to proiit, rdft in engaging. Men mnl- like the productions of the earth, in L- to .the : .ge> ana refpi which they firidin their labours. 4t The neighbouring farmers to the waite . complain generally of the want of » ; ::sid that they are obliged to have re- course to the turfs from the heaths to an- >fe, . : which yields a manure of a v_:v moderate virtue. It is the only reaibn which makes them reftraiu their cul- ta a fmall quantity of land, and neglect For moil: of them agree, c! ; 5, if they were ly obit : tS. •• il rices, i ob- idsa HOLLAND. 283 lands, which might eafily be done by giving them an example of this hufbandry. In all this country they know no other lort but ipurry ; and in a few parts clover. We have found, that fpurry is limited to the yielding pafturage for about three months. In regard to clover, they bound themfelves to the quantity they can low with wheat or oats, and are abfolutely ignorant of the ufe of lucerne and iaintfoin, which yield abun- dance of food, which lair, at leafr. five or fix years, and which will not fail fucceeding in foils that demand only the common manage- ment in the production of all forts of grain. The inhabitants might, with the affiflance of thefe graffes, multiply their cattle at will, and thus £nd themfelves abundance of dung, with which to fertilize all their lands, as well as thofe they break up. It would be more advantageous in cantons, where the market for corn is difficult, to turn the tafte and cares of the inhabitants to the commerce of cattle, of which the transport is eaiy, and the fale always certain. This commerce would foon become #ery extended, by the eaie with which the artificial grafies would be^increaicd. It would be eaiy to make an experiment on lucerne and faintfoin, of which the fuccefs might be regarded as in- fallible, a*4 T R A V I : S THROUGH fallible, being the principal fource of dance and riches in a great extent of country. " Thefe g . which of therml-ives in- finitely ameliorate, by their duration of lome years, the lands upon which : give an excellent nourishment to cattle ing winter; and the lands {ov from the month of April to that of I ber, will furniih abundant . d of the heft quality, during ail the fun.:: " The neceiVary funds for the e" required in great improvements, efj - - tor iniuring the fucceis of them, could only be found in an afibciation of a com: . The fimple cultivators can find hands only, and thofe hands are ufeleis without the funds necefiary tor buildings, for the - fe of cattle, feed, and the lubf. F 1 - pie until the time they I - wyoi's ti : fruits of their labour. From I i of flerility of thefe lands. : -t, we cannot hoy; trry to lorm a company ior w : ^nig their improvement. N, compare an en: that of ad: . y ex- actly the expences and produce, we fhall find Eery near the fame advantages in th: . a .? in that of the other. But HOLLAND. 285 prejudicc is for drainages, and this preju- dice will not allow them to hope for advantage from enterprizes, fuch as would he required in the breaking up wrafte lands. It is the government that mould give the example; and a commiffion eftablimed to employ themfelves with care, in fearching the means of improving an extent of coun- try lb great and intereiting, could fcarcely want iuccefs. In remarking the event of ibiiie particular grants, and fome modern im- provements in Guelders, the country of "Zutphen, in the marm of BoiQeduc, &c. . would be convinced, that it would an- swer the ends of government to take part by offering grants, and advancing the fums ne- ceiiarv to each farmer that demanded them, whether for the purchafe of cattle, for build- ings, for feed, and for lubfiftance till the crops were reaped, and waiting a few years for the reimburfement. It is not to be doubted, but if thefe conditions were offered to the countrymen, they would be accepted by a fumcientnumber to improve all theie waftes* " This propoiition is authorized by lbme examples which bright to be generally known, or, at leaft, attract more attention than they pofftis at preient. Why mould not the re- rublic execute in great, what a nobleman of Holikm zS6 TRAVELS THROUGH Holftein has dene in fmall ? This nobleman, an enemv to iervitu.de, and a friend to man- kind, gave in 1739 to a countryman, his bondman, the property of fome wafte and deiart land. He built for him a farm, fur- nifhed him with moveables, with cattle, im- plements of tillage, and ieed. In lefs than £ve years this countryman reimburfed his benefactor, and found himfelf rich. Since that epocha, the fame nobleman has efta- b limed every year two iimilar farms, which have been attended with the fame fuccefs. He has thus fucceflively carried on this efta- blifhment to the number of thirty families, who are rendered happy, and who of a defart have made a fertile country. If a iingle in- dividual, if a nobleman, who has o_ily his private eftate, with both lands and fortune very limited, has been able to make fo happy an improvement, what could not be effected by a powerful frate, by following the fame principles, and the fame method r No one can deny but the flate might execute in great, what this nobleman has performed in fmall with fuch great fuceis. ct TChe wafte lands of the republic would demand the eftablifhment perhaps of forty thoufand families. It feems, at firit fight, that this would be an enormous expe-nce to the HOLLAND. 2$7 the ftate. It might be eftimated at fifty millions, and is certainly a great object. " But let us for a moment fuppofe, that fifty thoufand families were efbblifhed in a ilate of profperity on thefe lands, and the farms in good culture, and the whole be- longing to a foreign power, and that this power ottered to fell them to the republic for fifty millions, there is no perfon that can think the republic would hefitate to make the acquisition at that price, or that half the value would be paid. By imitating the no- bleman of rlclitein, the republic might gam to herfelf thefe riches much cheaper, fince me might be repaid her expences in five or fix years, and reduce the expence to the charges of adminiifration, and the lofs of the interefh of the firft expenditure."* * Then follows the particulars of-M. Ray's improve- ment, a more circumftantial account of which I have given above. CHAP. *SS TRAVELS THROUGH CHAP. X. Of the Taxes cf Holland, THE amount to which taxes are carried in Holland, forms a very remarkable criterion of government. Are we to eiteem the countries where taxes are low, as the molt free and happv ; or thole where thev are the hioheit. r It is amazing that this queftion cannot be anfv/ered in the manner which the firft confederation of it dictates ; which is, that the lower the taxes the more free and happy the people. But this is not the affair : taxes run higher in fome of the free flares, &c. of Europe, than in any of -the abfoiute monarchies ; of this the country I am now writing of is a ftrong initance ; for in Holland, a given number of people, pay near double what the fame number do in France ; and in England, the people, though not lb high taxed as in Holland, vet pay more than in France. This lhews very evidently, that taxes are not inconfiftent with liberty, and that arbitrary power is not able HOLLAND. 2S9 able to iqueeze out of the people lb much as a free government gets with eaie. The cauie of this will mew us in a full light the advantages of freedom. It is the nature of deipotifm to impoverifh ; taxes are carried to excels under an abiblute monarch, but with all their excels they produce but little. All lower claffes are miierably op- prefled ; agriculture lies under a conftant de- cline ; commerce is not lo attended to as in free governments ; manufactures are alio in- ferior ; and an irregular, oppreffive adminif- tration on all ranks, are generally the confe- quences of an arbitrary government. Thefe are all impoverishing circumftances, and their effecT: is lb ftrong, that we fee France, which is upon the whole a more flouriihing kingdom in feveral of thefe particulars than moft of the other abiblute monarchies in Europe, much more opprefled with paying twelve millions fterling, than England, with not half the number of people, from paying ten, which is an enormous dilproportion. And it is to be noted, that many writers, who treat of the French commerce and ma- nufactures, boail much of the flouriihing ftate of thefe foundations of national power ; fo that fuppoling commerce and manufac- tures to be ever lb flouriihing in that king- Vol. I. U dom, z9o TRAVELS THROUGH dom, it only proves, that the cultivators of the ground and all other ranks of people are, as it were, in utter ruin ; that is by far the molt confiderable part of the kingdom. In Holland, England, and other free go- vernmentSj taxes are laid pretty equally on all ranks of people, and proportionably to fortune or income ; in which method but little or no oppreffion can be found ; but in France, &c. taxes are laid moil unequally. All thoie ranks that depend on the crown, are moif partially favoured, fuch as the no- bility, clergy, men in office, foldierv, &c. the confequence of which is, that all the other ranks pay as much too much as thev do too little ; and alter this general oppref- fion, follows a particular one, which is fuf- ricient to cruih all the lower clafles : fome of the taxes, efpecially the Taille, are levied according to the iuppoled ability of every individual ; and the iuppofition is founded on appearances. Farmers pay according to their crops, the number and goodnefs of their cattle, and the value of their imple- ments and furniture; from which it muft appear extremely plain, that the more they improve their lands, and the more they bring themfelves into an ability of doing ei- kntial fervice to agriculture or the arts, and the HOLLAND. 291 the kingdom, by fo much, more are they lure of being opprefled and burthened by the load of frem taxes ; which is a iyftem of abfurdity and deftruction fufficient to ruin any nation under heaven. Hence the in- finite number of beggars that diigrace all the roads of France, and the general poverty which is ihtn among all the lower claries of the kingdom. Thefe are the reafons that taxes produce fo little, in proportion to the number of the people, in all the arbitrary governments. Their want of a free and proper constitution expoles many of the clanes to fuch oppref- fion, that poverty is the conlequence ; and all the power and defpotifm upon earth can- not force wealth from a people that are poor. Whereas in republics and free governments, taxes being equal and proportionable to every man's ability of bearing them, they im- poverish no one ; and the aggregate of the people feem not at all opprefled. The quantity of taxes which can be raifed on a given number of people, mult every where be proportioned to the wealth of fuch people; consequently, that government is ca- pable of railing the greateir. lums on its fub- jects, which takes the heft means and molf care to enrich them : and upon the very fame U 2 principle, *9* TRAVELS THROUGH principle it is, that the iums railed in arbi- trary monarchies muft be Imall. In Holland, the government is free; and though taxes are immenle, yet the people are the moll: wealthy, upon an average, in Europe. As to the various di virions of thefe taxes, I cannot do better than infert the ac- count given by the author quoted above. fct No peribn can deny the neceffitv oi taxes. Whoever contributes to the expence; of the State, contributes to his own welfare, to the prelervation of his fortune, and his repolQ. But if the wants of the ibciety re- quire the imperious aid of taxes, nothing is more interefting to the welfare or humanity, than fearching the means of conciliating the Failing a tax with the rorm of it, and the form of the collection with the interelts of popula- tion, of agriculture, of arts, and of com- merce ; in one word, with the prelervation of the iburce of the tax, and with the in- creafe of which that iburce is almoft always futceptible among all nations. If it is very difficult to remove arbitrary power from taxes, and to attempt a perfect equality in the repartition of them, it is not impollible to approach very near it, and to pleale the people, at lea ft with the form and the mild- nefs of the collection. " The HOLLAND. 293 " The tax on timber, the verponden, or duty upon immoveables, the duties upon col- lateral fucceilions, upon the government bonds, upon the iales, are very juft ; they are not burthenibme ; the fame of the duty upon domeftics, which is laid upon the rich, and affeci.s not induftry, or the means of fubfifting the people, but very indirecty ; no otherwife than thefe duties exciting the rich to a greater oeconomy, and rather itraitening their confumption. " It is not the fame with duties upon commerce, cuftoms, and duties upon all ar- ticles of confumption. The actual intereits of commerce confidered, relatively to the general fituation of the commerce of Europe, and the competition which the Republic ex- periences at preient, require that means be found to reconcile a reduction of thele duties to a moderate ftandard, with the public wants. A diminution in the cuiroms might be made up by a greater oeconomy in the collection, by the decreate of many employ- ments in collecting them, and by an atten- tion more exact and more levere to frauds, and in diminifhing the duties upon the con- fumption of the neceflaries of life ; fuch as the duties upon bread, butter, milk, pota* toes, fruit, coal, turf, &c. They might U 3 augment, 294 TRAVELS THROUGH augment, perhaps, the product of the duties upon other parts of coniumption, lb that en- couragement would be given to population ; and the luxurious coniumption would extend itfelf the more. They might alio indem- nify the exchequer for this diminution, by throwing them upon the coniu.mptions of luxury ; for example, the ftrong liquors, the beverages, above all wine, tobacco, cof- fee, tea, fugar, which do not pay enough ; while the other articles, without which the poor cannot fupport themfelves, pay too much. " The duties upon confumption are the jnildeft and moil: juft taxes that can be made uie of, efpeciallv among a people whole ter- ritory is very limited, who have not many manufactures, and whofe riches confift ef- fentiallv in a very exteniive commerce, which maintains a great population: among fuch a nation, in all the cities that are the feat of its commerce; this impoft. being laid : alheoniumption, even of the necefl of life, (eems to street neither population nor ', nor commerce ; becaufe population is fupported by the commerce, which fuf- :.: the lame time the Induftry limited to the interior parts of the country, and agri- culture, by a great interior coniumption. It may HOLLAND. 295 may be faid, that if" every thing is dearer, all labour will be dearer in proportion ; that all is relative and muft balance ; and that com- merce pays all. " Thefe general reflexions are (educing ; but it is a great error to believe, that they authorize an administration to increafe the excile without meaiure upon all the necef- faries of life. This imprudence would have fatal effects, even in the cities which are the feat of the greateft commerce, efpecially if their commerce is a trade in freight, and would quickly deflroy the greateil advan- tages. It is an obfervation extremely juit, that has been made, on the interefts of France with her neighbours, under the name of the Marq. D'Argenfon, relative to Hol- land : " That in the places where the Re- " public joins upon monarchial ftates, it " is eafy to know the lands of the Republic " from thole of the monarchv, by the good " fbate of public works ; and the fame of the " eftates of individuals ; here they are neg--' " lecled, but there they are flouriihing and 4< in order." The lame author again obferves, " that " in the provinces of Flanders and Brabant, H we iee cities one upon another, boroughs " flouriihing, the country well cultivated, U 4 " every z95 TRAVELS THROUGH " every thing in abundance, every thing in M health." " But the obfervator falls into a maaifeft error, in attributing thefe advantages of the lands of Holland to the republican govern- ment ; and thole of the lands of Flanders and Brabant, to the municipal adminiitra* tion. If he had carried his obfervation a lit- tle beyond the objects, which immedL .: ftruck his view, he would have found the taxes much more exceffive than in any other country, and in many districts, the adminif- tration loaded with abufes and erroneous exr pences. He would have feen in feme pro^ vinces, and in many cities, about half the impoft diihpated in its road from the people to the coffers of the Sovereign ; and he would have been aftonifhed to fee, in io great an ex- tent of country, a flourishing agriculture, refitting for many ages a destructive admi- niltration. With more reflexion, he would have found the caule of the flourishing Irate of theie countries only in the fituation of thefe provinces, which, by an eafy naviga- tion, carries every thing: to a certain con- fumption : a conlumption uniformly fuf- tained for a long time by the trade of the commercial cities of Holland. He w J)aye feen towns carrying on commerce, or occupied HOLLAND. 297 occupied by manufacturers, equally well peo- pled ; but in all others, a very bounded po- pulation, fome even in indigence, and the people only fubiiiting by the confuinption and very limited expences of landlords and cultivators. The cities themlelves, the richeft, as Amflerdam, Rotterdam, &c.'fen- iiblv impoverifh themlelves by the excels of their taxes upon conlumption. Anvers, Malines, Brullds, Louvain, Gent, and the other cities of Brabant, and Auft dan Flan- ders, are very badly peopled ; they would be totally deferted, if their population was not yet iuftained by the fabrication of linens and laces ; lor agriculture is verv lenlibly affected. All taxes which give a damp to conlumption, deilroy the moft active agent of agriculture and induftry, and weaken the iource of taxes. This is what has happened in all thefe provinces, that have much ex- tended their duties upon the conlumption ot the necerYaries of life. It is that which happens at prelent from the fame realon in England ; the induftrious workmen dilap- pear, and carry with them their wealth and great conlumption. *' In all countries, fays M. Roufieau, a man's hands are worth more than his lub- fifhnce ; but this is only true in countries where 298 TRAVELS THROUGH where they are employed, and there onlv bv general confumption, which furnifhes at the lame time the means of fubliitance to a world of women, children, old men, inva- lids, and to men, in a word, who have no hands. " Thus it is that in a great confumption we fee equally the fource of a flouriihing agriculture, a great population, and the true iource of taxes, and the power of a State. It is the maintenance of that fource, which ought to be the true object of administration. And the free administration of one man is a Shelter from the contradiction of perfonal intertSts, which predominate in a Republi- can government, and in the municipal ad- ministration, with a greater means and faci- litv of eftablifhino- and maintaining: this fource of public felicity. " Nothing is more ufeful to the public than writings upon political matters, which are the moft interesting. Obfervations on thefe matters may give birth to an infinity of happy difcoveries, and the greateft progrefs of genius and arts. It is to them, the legif- lative Spirit and the genius of adminiftration owe the principles of the moSt. uleful regula- tions ; for it is very clear from thence, what will make induftry and commerce flourish. It HOLLAND. 299 It feems, that the more induftry and com- merce there is among a nation, the more it is forced to multiply regulations ; and fuch is the weaknefs of the human mind, that there is no nation among whom there remains nothing in this refpect to wilh for. There are ftates, where they feel without ceafing the want of new laws, although they have multiplied laws to an excefs, which are be- come a load moft. burthenfome to the people, and a great obltacle to the progrefs of agri- culture, induftry, and commerce. There are others, which have few ufeful laws; and others, that want all to be made. " Commerce, confidered in all its con- nexions, in all the combinations of its uti- lity, is an immenfe object. If we would run through all its branches with advantage, we ought to remember, that it is impoilible for a Angle man to embrace all with that le- giflative lpirit which adminiitration re- quires. Thus they ought to know at will the enlightening obfervations of thofe, who have occupied themfelves in throwing light upon all the different branches ; and who would, like the Engliih, have laws, regula- tions, and projects, for the improvements in agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, pals a crucible of public contradiction. It is thus TRAVJLLS THROUGH :'.:v might indicate the limits of pru- dence, and the wifdom of legiflation. " It is in this point of viewing the public Utility ; it is upon thefe principles that we go here upon imports, and to examine ibme other branches, the moft interesting to in- duftry and commerce, which have the .:eit influence upon their progrefs, and coniequently is more interefiing to a nation, who has no other lburce for her prosperity than induftry and commerce. " The impoils in Holland are divided into three capital branches ; the duties upon rtation and importation ; and the duties on valuation, which is not under that deno- mination an ufelefs title, but an additional dutv upon exportation and importation. This i> the firft branch of taxes, and the only one, which is equal to all the inhabitants of the Seven Province?, which ipreads itlelf over all, end generally in an uniform manner; and this the States General directly order, and the produce of it is carried to the treafury of the Republic. The two other principal branches confift in duties upon weights in the provinces and cities, in duties upon con- sumption, and in others, perfonal and real. Thtfe two branches, whereof a part of the produce belongs to the cities, and the other to HOLLAND. ■ : l to the provinces, are iiubdivided into an in- finity of other branches, all directed by a great number of laws, different and parti- cular to each province, and to each city. For the ftates of the provinces, and the re- gency of the cities, are the legiflators of their interior adminiftration. " We do not propoie to give a table of the adminiftration of the finances, which re- quires a great detail, and is foreign to our iubject, but limply to offer ibme obierva- tions, which the utility and the advantages of manufactures and commerce demand. We owe alio this attention to the curiofity of foreigners, who feek, in the knowledge of the wiidom and ceconomy of the Dutch ad- minift ration, for examples uleful to imitate. " The laws of the cufloms ought to have eflentially for their object, the favouring and encouraging agriculture, manufactures, and in general, all national induftry, and exterior commerce. It is very difficult to make a general law univerfally wife and uleful upon a matter of lo vail extent, among commercial nations ; becaufe, independently ot the necef- fities of the finances, which demand impe- rioufly ot adminiftration, duties upon com- merce ; the duties on exportation and im- portation, in general on all materials raw. or 502 TRAVELS THROUGH or manufactured, which come in or go out, the progrefs, and even the prefervation of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, do all require prohibitions, or the impoli- tions of duties, which, in taking place, either upon importation, or upon the expor- tation, coniift of an infinite number of arti- cles, both raw and manufactured. France and England ought to favour the importa- tion of all the raw materials of their manu- factures, which foreigners furniih them. Both the nations fhould clog the exportation of the raw materials of their own produce, and alib the importation of all fuch foreign manufactures as would be prejudicial to their own. They ought to facilitate as much as poilible, the exportation of the pro- ducts of their own, or their colonies growth, and of all the manufactures they do not confume ; for procuring all the advantages to agriculture, which thofe nations cannot en- courage too much in Europe and America. The burthens, which agriculture, the prin- cipal and molt precious fource of their com- merce, obliges them to throw upon the li- berty of foreign trade, and the necefiitv of lupporting their own manufactures, or of ac- quiring new ones, made them imagine the .;rces of free ports, for remedying as much HOLLAND. 303 much as poffible the infinite inconveniences given birth to by prohibitions. Among thefe two nations, the adminiftration of commerce is perhaps the branch of the go- vernment of the ftate which requires con- tinually of their minifliers the mod attention, care, and labour. " The admin iftration of the commerce of Holland is infinitely lefs difficult ; me has none but objects of detail, {he has not to manage or conciliate in legiflation lo great a diverfity of interefts, as feems a contradic- tion ; although her commerce embraces se- nerally whatever is in Europe, and which Europe carries on with the other quarters of the world, yet her trade is neverthelefs of a nature wholly different from that of France and England. Thefe two nations, are upon the whole, kingdoms of agriculture, manu- factures, commercial, warlike, and powerful in territory, and marine. Holland is only a warlike, maritime, and commercial nation. Its adminiftration of commerce is lefs complicated, and its legiflation ought to be infinitely more iimple. Holland has not any natural productions to encourage by pro- hibitions on importation, nor by privileges on exportation. As much as the quantity of commodities ■coniumed in Holland, fur- pafTes 30+ TRAVELS THROUGH pafles that of the productions of its foil, agri* culture becomes one of the moil lucrative pro- reilions ; fhe can be difcou raged or destroyed only by depopulation, which muft be very coniiderable to be felt in the coniumption of the productions of fo limited a territory. " Almoft all her manufactures, reduced to a fmall interior coniumption by the dear- nefs of labour, demand iome ailiftance in the cuftoras ; it would be uielefs to under- take to revive them by prohibitions, or by exemptions. Even with this affiftance, it would be impoiiible to produce them at a price low enough to withftand the competi- tion of foreigners ; and beiides, the intereft of the aggregate of her trade requires, that her magazines have always an equal aflbrt- ment of her own manufactures, and thofe of all other nations. u We can only except the fifhery, which we mav regard as a fort of culture natural to Holland, which is one of the moll: pre- cious branches of national induliry ; but the induftry, which is occupied in the building of (hips, the whitening of linens and wax, the manufacture of ftarch, paper, and por- celain, cannot be too much encouraged ; but not by prohibitions of importation, which are contrary to the interefts of the Dutch HOLLAND, 305 _ Dutch commerce, and the freighting trade; but by interior exemptions, by an exemp- tion from the duties of exportation, and by the liberty of importation among other na- tions. " Butter, and certain liquors, are almoft . the only productions of national induftry; of which the interior confumption ought to be enfured by duties upon importation, equiva- lent to a prohibition. " The object of the cufroms ought there- fore to be principally to favour, as much as pofiible, the importation and re-exporta- tion of all forts of merchandize, and foreign commodities ; and adminifrration ought to attach itfelf to railing as little as pofiible, the price of merchandize and commodities imported and re-exported, for fuftaining the advantage in the buying and felling trade. This favour, which is demanded by the nature and commerce of Holland, feems not to require, in the laws of the cuftoms, any dilpolitions but what are extremely fim- ple : Neverthelefs, this law, notwithftand- ftanding the changes that have been well conducted, is yet very complicated ; it em- barraffes commerce, and gives great advan- tages to the Hanfe-Towns, and efpecially to thofe of Hamburgh and Bremen, whole Vol. I. X com- 3o6 TRAVELS THROUGH competition acquires every day a fuperiority, becaufe their duties upon importation and exportation are fcarcely any thing. "It is commonly reckoned, that the ♦cuftoms amount to 5 per cent, of the value of the produces and merchandize, both on ex- ported and imported in general ; but an exa- mination of thcfe laws, will not permit us to make this eftimatibn with precifion. " T»he duties upon importation and expor- tation are only one per cent at Hamburgh, and half per cent at Bremen ; which na- turally enfures to thole cities a decifive per- ference among foreign merchants, on all occasions wherein they -can give a prefer- ence ; and thefe occafions prefent themfelves. every day, very often in the ordinary courfe of commerce. Duties fo moderate, invite not to fraud ; they do not offer advantage enough, to engage a merchant to expote himielf to the fmalleft rifques ; and for this reafon, they produce more money to the public treafury, than if they were higher ; but inducing traders to be fraudulent. "There is no nation able to leave all ex- ports and imports entirely free from all duties, and which confequently would want no cuflom-houfes, either for the intereft of the finances, H O L L A N D. 307 finances, or for encouraging its agriculture, manufactures, and commerce : but the par- ticular confiderations, which would enter into the compofition of fuch a freed ftate, could not be combined with too much care and attention, for conciliating at once the de- . mands of the revenue, with the neceflity of of preferving agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, which are the only fources of revenue. " The actual lituation of the commerce of Europe, and that of Holland, which is fo intimately connected with the reft of Eu- rope that it depends entirely on it, requires not only that re-exportation be exempted from all the duties of exportation, but alio, that the duties payable on importation be re- turned. " If we give any attention to the mar- kets of the preient commerce of Europe, and the circulation of products and merchandize, we (hall be convinced, that the profits of commerce in general are much reduced at prefent, by excels of competion ; the induf- try of thefe nations is much greater than that of the abilities of the merchants, who mult, pay for labour, circulation, freight, or the tranfport by land ; the expences of infurance, commifllon, wharfage, and ma- X % gazines ; 3o8 TRAVELS THROUGH gazines; and laftly, for the profit of ciro> lating the figns of the value. When every nation, that adds all thefe expences to the price of the merchandize, in paffing from the firft hand to the laft, alfo raifes the value by the duties which are laid on them, it mull make them neceflarily and quickly lotc all profit in the circulation ; it muft im- poverish a commerce, efpecially if it be a trade of buying and felling. This is a na- tural and infallible caufe of a decreafe very fenfibly felt in the univerfality of trade,, where the difadvantages are not to be ba- lanced by the profits made by certain indi- viduals from fpeculation, even with uncom-. mon fuccefs ; for in this matter, we are only to confider the general trade, its common and daily courfe, independant of the revolu- tions which take place from time to time in fpeculative commerce ; and which ought not to enter into the fpirit and motives of the cuftoms on exportation and importation. " But the ftate of the finances of the Re- public, and the expences which (he muft iuftain, will not permit the ufe of a rule, which ordains the return of the duties of importation upon re-exportation ; or for freeing foreign commerce of all duties of ex- portation and importation, and to reduce thole upon HOLLAND. 309 upon the entry, to the interior. confumption ; but it the diminution of the public revenue, will not allow of giving fuch an affiftance to commerce, would it be impoffible to find, in a matter fo important, the means of giv- ing, at prefent, that encouragement which is indifpeiifably necefiary, without altering the revenues of the ftate ? Would it be im- poffible to form the idea and project of new rates of cuftoms to be fubftituted for the pre- fent ones, the duties to be more moderate, the collection more eafy and certain, to give the fame product, and perhaps a fuperior one, and at the fame time to fpread through the Dutch commerce, a part of thofe pre- cious advantages antiehtly enjoyed ? " We mould fall into a great error, if we regarded, in general, the excife upon con- fumption, and upon houfes and lands, as in- different to commerce, upon the foundation of Holland not having many manufactures to conduct ; and becaufe the confumption there is fo fuperior to the productions of a territory extremely limited, that it is not to be feared culture would ever be negtecled on account of thole imports. " We generally confider the duties upon confumption, like the imports, as lels bur- thcnfome, the moil jiift, and the mort equal. X 3 This 3io TRAVELS THROUGH This is true, 12 in the impoiltion of the ex- cite it falls upon the confumption of the neceflaries of life, and the iubitance of the people, without destroying induftry, and the means of iubfiftance. In admitting theie conditions, the impoft becomes as juft, and as little burthenfome, as any tax can be. " The weight of this tax is laid upon the confumption of all the nc of life, in the cities where the wealtjb eflentially con- iifts in a vtry extended commerce, which naturally maintains a great population, and is, without doubt, the lefs fenfible of it ; but all is the dearer, all labour is dearer in proportion, but all is relative, all is ba- lanced, and the commerce pays all. " But though this exciie, laid upon the confumption of neceflaries, in the commercial cities, is lefs burthenfome than elfewhere, it is nevertheless very deltrucVive, e'fpeci in cities where the commerce cdnfifts of buying and felling. ' It cannot be coritefted, but that thefe excifes render the neceflaries of life much dearer to the people, and confe- ntly increafe the prices of labour ; and from thence, it mufr. neceffarily arife, that all the works, required in the fhipping and navigation of an infinite detail, will become dear, and the maintenance of the c equally HOLLAND. 3n equally dearer ; the nation mint therefore lole the advantages of a low freight : and it further follows, that the labour in loading and unloading merchandize, and the ex- pences of magazinage being dearer, the com- miflions from foreigners will infallibly di- minifh and pafs to rival nations. The fimery becomes alio infinitely dearer for the fame reafon, and much lels ufeful to the mer- chants ; the nation mult therefore impo- verish itfelf, by continual decreafe of com- merce and navigation. " The influence of the excife, upon com- modities of the firft neceility, with relpecl to population, and the welfare of the people, is much more lenlibly felt in cities at a dis- tance from maritime commerce, where the evil has a progrefs much more rapid ; there it produces a failure of all manufactures, that are not lupported by the interior con- iumption, or which cannot fupport at home the competition of foreigners, by the fin- gie effect of the dearnefs of labour, which gives too high a price to all works of induf- try ; and the lofs of an induftrious clafs of the people, by diminifhing population and confumption, will neceflarily impoveriih all the other claiies, and weaken the frate. The people, who have only induflry for X 4 their ; i z TRAVELS THROUGH their fupport, are become very poor in the cities of Holland at a diftance from com- merce. The decline of manufactures has al- ready flopped a part of the uiual quantum of induitry in the commerce of retale, while the traders in that branch can fcarcely lub- fift ; they are now too great a number. The lofs of manufactures has diminiihed the number of purchafers ; the population aifo of cities, diitant from maritime commerce, can hardly fuftain itielf in the ftate of me- diocrity ; which we fee bv the luxury and confumption of thofe, who live on their fortunes or rents, and of the inhabitants of the country. "' If we examine with attention the dif- ferent branches of taxes, among different nations, we fhall find, that the intereils of neral induilry diminiih, or are totally de- frayed in iome, while in ethers they arife and augment, only becaufe they fall alone ipon luxury, riches, and fupex^fluities. We might find, without falling upon the means of the people's fubiiilance, enough to fupport the public expences ; and we might t. preferve the fources of the finances, and the ftrength of the if ate ; for if we reflect well, we might iee, that the riches of individual;, and thofe finances, have ec their ionrcc in HOLLAND. 313 in the induftry of the people. The wealth, from which the ftate fupports her exchequer, in whatever hands it may be tound, is all produced by the induftry of the people ; de- ftrov this induftry m a ftate, and the riches of landlords, and thole of the proprietors of houfes and lands, as well as thole or com- merce, become at once annihilated, and with them thole of the linances. " If we examine upon thele principles the different branches of taxes in Holland, we ihall rind, that the duties upon bread, meat, milk, butter, fruits, turf, and coal, deftroy without cealino; the fources of all taxes, and that they ought to be infinitely reduced, or totally fir i. The excife, on the con- trary,-upon the commodities of luxury, might be infinitely augmented without hurting induftry, and without giving any interruption to the means of the people's fub- illtance. The duties upon tobacco, tea, coffee, fugar, cocoa, oil of olives, wines, brandies, fluffs, and above all the filks and the rich ftufrf foreign n.;.:r:f;cli:re, are 3 low, and hi cities upon all thefe Luxury could well fupport ; there iing, for the m t, t confump- tion 01 them, which would reComperice very advantageoufly (without doing any miichk i 314 TRAVELS THROUGH miichief cither to commerce or any branch of national iuduftry) for a great diminution^ or a total fuppreflion of all the exciles upon the neceilaries of ii " The impontions upon lands, houfes, mortgages, horles, carriages of all forts, upon all iorts of domeilics, upon marriages, upon the public lales of moveables and im- moveables, in fuppofing the imposition upon the footing of a juft valuation and tine, the duty upon timber, and the rights of iuccef- fion, whether teftamentary or ab i?itcftato9 or by the direct line of defcent, are jufl im- poiitions ; they do not attack the induitry of the people, they fall only upon wealth or fuperfluitv, and might be imitated in the whole, or in part, with great advantage by I . other nations of Europe. " It is not the fame with the duties im- pofed upon cows, whether under the name It for cow-keepers, or under other de- dications, whiqh raife the price of the r, and choeie, a precious part of ilimentofthe people, and abiblute ne- ' ies of life. Thele duties may be re- garded as an indirect excife upon milk, for ovv-keeper muft fell it dearer, in pro- ion to the tax upon cows. They do not ; to the the confumption is made HOLLAND. 315 made by falsing the butter and cheefe, which cannot be carried to market without fait. By this euftom, the cow-keeper re- fells his fait with great profit, and the tax is not burthenfome to him, becaufe the price which he has for his milk, butter, and cheefe, throws the duty upon the confumer. " The duties upon consumption raife the price of commodities, and this augmenta- tion of value, may produce different effects among different nations. It is true, in ge- neral, that the duties upon confumption are paid by the confumers, becaufe they do not change the natural price of the commodity, which is regulated at market by the abun- dance or fcarcity of money, and is more or lefs according to the demand. We mould not here give any attention to the expences of the proprietors, in bringing their goods to market ; thofe who are neareft, enjoy in this refpect, an advantage which is foreign to the tax, and in which the tax makes no difference : but it happens often, that the duties much reftrain the confumption, either in removing the conlumers, and leffening their number, or in exciting them to a greater oeconomy ; and the defect of con- fumption eftablifhes fuch an abundance of the commodity, that the proprietor is forced to 3i6 TRAVELS THROUGH to give it for a low price, though only to pay the duties upon conlumption ; in this cafe, thefe taxes on conlumption "are the oc- ifiuite evils. This inconvenience is not the only one to be feared in Holland ; it cannot happen, that the proprietors of commodities mould pay no part of the du- ties on confumption, becaule the conlump- tion of commodities is much iuperior to the territorial production : thus, it* they would raife a duty, at the expence of the inhabitants of the country (who are almcit all cow- keepers or turf-cutters, and the richeft part of the lower people, and, at the lame time, the onlv ones that are rich, are near the maritime cities) in impoling on the cow- keerers the tax on fait, and other duties upon cows, and iikewne a lpecies ol capita- tion upon the turf-cutters, it is certain, that the legiflator will mils his tnds, from thefe duties being paid by the coniumers, to whom they are very burthenfome. " Thefe taxes, as weU as thole upon the neceflaries of life, would not only be happily made up by an Lncreafed duty upon the conlumption (lb much per cent, upon the value) of fugars, tea, coffee, cocoa, and to- bacco, and upon which there are very mo- derate duties at prelent ; and alio v.^oa iilks, liUn:>5 HOLLAND. 357 fluffs, and other foreign manufactures. Thefe commodities and merchandize are fufceptible of a great augmentation of the duties upon importation and consumption ; and theie duties would not hurt national in- duftrj nor commerce, by returning, as be- fore obferved, the amount of the duty upon re-exportation. " If proportional duties were added upon the confumption of tobacco, lugar, tea, coffee, cocoa, oil of olives, wines, brandies, filks, and rich ftufrs, which are the confumptions of luxury, the finances would finely receive a produce from them, iuperior to the amount of that which is drawn irom the entire exciie upon the neceiiaries ot life, as upon bread, milk, butter, cheefe, meat, turf, and coals. *• We may oblerve, that the countrymen, or cultivators ot land, are extremely loaded with taxes in Holland, but they are never- thelels the clais of people who pay the leeu, becauie they pay with the money of the cou- iumers. One is altonifhed, in travelling through the province of Holland, to lee le> little land in the hands of the cultivators ; and though the taxes are io high, yet the people lo eafy, and for the moil part rich ; lb that a very great number arc not ieen in town?. 318 TRAVELS THROUG1I the towns, without having a chaife with one or two hories. The reafon is very flmple, thofe who employ themfelves in the nihery, find a prodigious coniumption, and, at their door, the fund of inexhauiuble riches; raoft of them reckoning their fortunes by the ton of gold, or 10,000 florins. Thofe, who undertake turferies, are not poorer; the other countrymen have only milk and legumes for the object of their induftry ; they are all cow-keepers or gardeners, or both the one and the other ; they fell the fruit of their induflrv very dear, and proportionally to the taxes which they pay ; they have all the ad- vantage of carrying them on canals to a great market, fo that we are to regard their taxes no other than imp-oils laid upon the confumption of the bourgeois, and the other inhabitants of the cities. This wealth per- petuates itfelf among the countrymen, be- caufe they do not permit their children to quit their own profeflion ; and this is one of the greater! iburces of the Republic's ftrength. " But this fource, this opulence of the country, differs infinitely by the diminution of that great coniumption which maintains it: but the adminiffration mould ftop the progrefs of depopulation in the cities re- moved HOLLAND. 3*9 moved from maritime commerce. We mould have found, that this fource has al- ready loft much, if we had taken the pains to obferve it with care. We have not, per- haps, given fufficient attention how much the riches of a cultivating people, and that oftheftate, depend upon the eaiy circum- ftances of the inhabitants of cities ; if they, who have loft their manufactures, which leaves them but little other induftry, and who, by their fituation, cannot take part in maritime commerce, nor in the fifliery, nor in the building of mips, are neverthe- less obliged to pay always the fame fubiidies to the ftate ; it muft neceftarily follow, that they muft be impoverished and depopulated by fuch impofitions, and their weaknefs muft have a lafting effect on their whole neigh- bourhood, and even upon the profperity of cities occupied in a great commerce. It feems, therefore, that the general intereft of the commercial cities, is nearly the lame with that of the others who have no com- merce, and very little, induftry, and whom they mould aftift, by bearing a greater pro- portion of the public levies. " Administration might indemnify the com- mercial cities, for fuch augmentation in their mare of the public expences, by funpreffing the 320 TRAVELS THROUGH burthen of impofls which fall upon naviga^ tlou ; and which alter or deftroy a part of the natural and artificial advantages, which the navigation of Holland has upon that of ether nations. " Independantly of the freedom of the manoeuvres which the Dutch know how to give their (hips, which from thence require Ids numerous crews, independantly of their extra- ordinary extreme oeconomy of Jiving, of their attention in procuring freight, of having few expences from delays, and never failing upon ballafl, of procuring themfelves all the ma- terials for building at the firft hand, and of conftrucling in the cheapeft manner, poriible, they have the advantage enjoyed by few na- tions of Europe, of having a much greater number of feamen than their navigation, all extenfive as it is, can employ in time of peace, and which eftabliihes, in all their ports, a moft happy competition for forming good crews at a low price. This clals of people is fo numerous, that it is pretended there were more than 25,000 Dutch iailors employed in the Engliih (hips. " This immenfe number of feamen, is the product of their fmall fifhery, which laits all the year, more extenfive in Holland than any where elie, as well as of the whale and HOLLAND. ::i and herring fisheries. Thefe three fisheries do net ceafe to raile and form every year a great number of feamen, more than their marine and commerce can employ. w We cannot fee without regret, in {o wife an administration, all thefe happy advantages balanced by taxes. If M. de Montefquieu had been more exactly initructed in the com- merce and finances of Holland, he would not have laid, that whatever contributes to navigation is exempted from duties : he would have faid, on the contrary, that whatever contributes to navigation, ought to be exempted from duties; becauie, as he very well obierved, the oeconomy of the Hate, gives foul to the commerce of freight. If the tribute of it is loft, it is recompenced in fome meaiure by the induftry and riches of the Republic. Here the molt wife Re- public would find an example, worthy of their imitation, in the adminftration of the monarchial {rates ; for iuch duties. M de Montefqueieu obferved, to be little proper for making commerce in general proiperous, and efpeeially the commerce of freight. For there is, perhaps, no monarchial ftate, wrhere we find real duties upon mips, and a fort of capitation upon their crews. Vol. I. V " The 3zz TRAVELS THROUGH " The duties of two and an half per cent. ( ftablilhed upon immoveables, likewiie upon tlie amount of iales, and alio upon mort- gages, are extended to all forts of mips, yatchts, and buildings, covered or un- covered, compriiing their cannon, rigging, uteniils, &c. They except from thefe duties, only thefirft letters of property, and the pri- vileges of the builders ; and the ordonnance directs, that the duty upon fale (hall be paid, half bv the vender and half by the purchafer; but if the purchafer is a foregner the duty is reduced hair. " Befides this, the mips pay another duty under the name of Lalt Geld. It is a tax of c;s. per laft upon exportation, and ios. upon importation ; and the vefiel thus acquitted, re- mains free all the reft of the year. It is a duty laid upon the pailport or lettres de mer, which laft during a year. Ships are obliged to take every year a new paflport, and to pay new duties of five or ten (hillings per laft. " We know of no other exemption from excife, in favour of navigation, than that of iome of augmentation, in favour of bakers, who make the bifcuit for the ihips going to fea, for their confumption on board. " Salt pavstive florins per ton, and iome augmentation. That which is employed in falting HOLLAND. 5:3 lairing herrings, and other fifh, is exempt from this duty ; but there is fince impoied, from a half to two (hillings per head upon the crews, according to the different coun- tries to which they are bound, as a duty upon their coniumption of fait. " Thefe duties upon mips, and their con- fumption, are very burthenfome to the Dutch merchants, and prejudicial to that competi- tion which they have at prefent to iuitain, in the trade of buying and felling, and upon freight, which is the firft bafis of it. " In the iyitem of taxes, limited to thefe duties, and the excife upon coniumption, there are in Holland two forts of fortunes, and which are the moll confiderable in the Re- public, which contribute nothing to the pub- lic expences ; becaule thefe fortunes are out of the reach of taxes. For we are not to re- gard as a contribution to the public charge, the duties of excile which are paid bv mer- chants, and the proprietors ol income in the public funds of foreign nations. The mer- rs pay nothing to the ftate upon the product of the capitals which they circulate in commerce; nor the flock-holders upon the income which they draw from fo- reigners ; and yet if we calculate the ge- neral revenue of the nation, we mail rind V 2 that 324- TRAVELS THROUGH that thefe two are the moil: con tide rable part, perhaps two thirds of the whole. " The public revenue of a nation is no other than a part of its general income, whereof all the branches ous;ht to contribute to form the public revenue. And it is a moil destructive evil in the form of taxation, when the richeft branches of the general revenue contribute nothing to form the revenue of the public. Independently of the perma- nent injuftice, which reiults from the ine- quality of the divifion of the public duties among the citizens of the fame ftate, the exemption from the impolts, enjoyed by the fortunes of merchants, and of perfons enjoy- ing wealth in the public funds of foreign na- tions, throws all the burthen of the public expenees upon the manufacturing people, upon indigence itfelf, and upon thofe clafles of people who are not able to bear it, and muft necefiarily be very deftructive to the welfare of the ftate. " The duties upon the confumption of luxury, principally the heavy ones, which enter only into the confumption of the rich, fuch as the commodities of prime quality, and the expenfive fluffs of foreign manufac- ture, are but a weak means of making the the greateft fortunes, and the greateft wealth in HOLLAND. 3zS In the ftate, contribute in any proportion to the expences of the public; efpecially in a country where luxury is {o generally intro- duced, and where it is fo well known how to reconcile it with the greateft ceconomy; and where, in fpite of the efforts of the mode and of luxury, few of the rich fpend more than a third or half of their incomes. " Let the declaimers againft luxury, and thofe who complain without cealing among fome nations at perfonal impositions, and the arhitrarinefs that accompanies them, con- fider of the inconveniences which muft re- mit here, from an exemption of fvch perfons from contributing to the public expences, who enjoy three fourths of all the fortunes of the ftate ; an exemption, the evil of which renders ufelefs the greateft fburces of the power of a ftate and the induftry of a people! It is above all things, neceflary in a Repub- lic, that a fpirit and zeal for the welfare of the country, mould fuggeft the means of ex- tending the taxes with a juft equality, and a happy proportion, as much as poilible ; and that the weight of the public expences mould be laid upon all wealth, and particularly upon the greateft wealth that exifts in the ftate. It cannot be improper, to fhew by Y 3 way 326 TRAVELS THROUGH way of example, what is done in the city of Hamburgh. " There they make all the merchants contribute to the imports in proportion, to their pofleffions ; but the merchant taxes himfelf. He knows at the moment he is going to pay his tax, the wealth which he pofieifes, and he makes his calculation, and carries himielf, or lends, in a bag fealed up, the fum which he impofes on himielf, and which is received by four commilTaries or receivers, and put, in prefence of the perlbn who brings it, into a cheft, without any one g allowed to count it. It is er.iy to per- ceive the reaibn of this. No peribn can be received into that city to carry on any com- merce, without making oath of contributing, •in confeience, to the expenccs of the ftate. fee clearly, that bv this form of im- port, many men, who had no regard for re- ligion, might cheaply acquit themielves of contributing to the public expences. Never- theleis the good which refults from this form of taxation, mult, be much fuperior to the inconveniences which mav accompanv it, lince an adminirtration, fo wife as that of Hamburgh, finds the advantages of this If it is not the mort fure, it is at lean: noil mild way of making unknown for- tunes HOLLAND. 327 tunes contribute to the expellees of the date: and if there reiults ibme inconveniences from this form of import, they ought at leaft to be preferred to the infinite evils produced from entire exemptions. " The good administration of the finances, the mofr. juif and moil exact equal it v in the divilion of taxes, ought to be regarded among all nations, but efpecially in Holland, as it is one of the greateft and raoft important means of prefer ving or increaiing com- merce ; and it much imports all the nations of Europe, that Holland mould preferve her trade, or increaie it, if poffible, bv new regu- lations, or by new efforts of national in- dull r v. " The commerce of the Dutch confifts in buying the commodities and merchandize of the South, which they depoiit among them for making out afibxtments for the North ; and the lame from the North the South. Thev have eftablifhed among them the bell: market in Europe, tor the products of the foil, and the induftry of the four parts of the word. Thus the mduftry of the Dutch eonfifts principally, and almoft entirely, in giving a value to the (try of all other nations. The induftry cr the Dutch is therefore ex, ulerul to ail Y j. otl TRAVELS THROUGH othei nations, a::d it imports them Infinitely to perpetuate it. It is the very nature of the trac'e carried on in Holland, to efbbliih, a •--" : ail other nations, an advantageous competition in their fales and their pur- chaies ; to fell for them, with the greatell r, and at the befl rrice, their fup tes; and to procure them at the loweit price, whatever they want: this confbntly giv a new activity to their induitiy, and multi- plies the means of their fubfiftance. This activity, which the Dutch give to the com- merce and induflrv of all Europe, by their navigation, is animated and infinitely in- prea j the immenfe fum of credit, and oi wealth which th in, id which fhey circulate without ceaiing, in all the places to which they trade. This Come of the mcfi precious food that gives ..'its to European induitrv. This circula- . rtant, that if we hip- po.:, it Gitpended for only a year, in the prefent fiti it I the commerce of Europe, all induirry would fall into an univerlal lan- guor ; the fruits of agriculture, and the arts, would become a charge to their proprietors, and the finances of the greatefr. part of the cowers of Europe, would neeeflarily be af- fected. H O L L A N D. 329 fected. The general welfare of all the indi- viduals, which compofe the great European family, requires the mod active circulation of commodities and merchandize. This circulation cannot he made but with the af- fiftance of filver, which is the reprefentative fign of all value ; but as on one fide, filver cannot circulate itfelf but with flownefs, and on the other, as the fum of money, which exifts in Europe, cannot reprefent the tenth part of the value which agriculture and in- duftry continually produce, the genius of commerce has equally fupplied the flownefs of the circulation of filver, and the infuf- ficiency of its quantity, by the figns of mo- ney, by fubftitutes, which reprefent it, where it is not ; and which exactly executes all its functions. Now it is credit alone, that can produce thefe figns in the abun- dance necefl'ary for giving fo great an acti- vity to the circulation of products and mer- chandize ; and Holland furnifhes Europe with much more than half this credit. " We ought to confider iikewife, the in- duftry and the commerce of the Dutch, in another point of view of utility, yet more im- portant. " The TRAVELS THROUGH " The equilibrium of commerce is the object which ought moil to occupy, at pre* lent, the political genius of the nations of Eu- rope. It is by the eftablifliment and the • nefervattion of this equilibrium, that each nation . I take, in the fum of the He- neral riches of Europe, the part which na- turally belongs to her iituation, to her pro- ductions, and to her induilry. The gene:..! iutereft of the commerce of Europe, is not only an enemy of all deflruction, but it ft - ther requires, that each nation be induilri- ous, and carry on with freedom whatever commerce ihe can acquire. This V - : ex- tends itieir here to navigation and legitimate commerce between all nations, without linking at the eilabiifhments of comme which belong to each nation in particular. It is in tins, which co:n:::s the equilibrium of the commerce of Eun " No naf. Dutch, in the eftablifhmc of this equilibrium of commerc ^ necled with all the ual : w rid, the oat t .If of their commerce rendei this equilibrium in: They are, at the time, a - nation, and a warlike oarit \ and HOLLAND. 331 and by reafon only of this national intereft, the other nations may regard this maritime power as one of the great refources of Eu- rope, tor maintaining the equilibrium of commerce, and have a right to claim its af- fiftance." CHAP. TRAVELS THROUGH CHAP. XL Of the Manners^ Cufioms, a?: J Genius of the Du:: ':. I AM very feniible, that it is an arduous tafk. for a perion who does not make i long ce in a foreign country, to pro- nounce upon theie points with cleamefs and accuracy ; but I (hall not pretend to give a minute picture of the Dutch manners, on the Contrary, I mall venture no further than at- tempting to trace thoie ftrong distinctions, about which I had not any doubt ; and at the fame time, minute thoie particulars, in which the writers of the laft age ieem to be grown oblolete. They might be, and fome of them certainly were competent judges, but : : ion iticlf is in various circumftances changed. Nothing is more common than to read accounts, handed down from writer to writer, who copy one another with the minuteft attention, of nations, the originals oi which, however like and juftly drawn, arc HOLLAND. 355 are become as different from the prefent in- habitants of the countries, as the French are unlike the Turks. It is true, that in all countries the climate has fuch an effect upon the inhabitants, that lbme ftriking and diftinguifhing marks will be found in their characters, in all ages. Tacitus, who was fo deep an obferver into men and manners, has given many touches of character in his accounts of the antient Germans, Gauls, and Belg >sc