The Washington herald., 1915-05-13

In 1G99 when the war was over, Pariia
ment laid a new restriction upon tn
= colonies. forbiddins them to manu-
| facture their own wool for export, evei
for export from colony to colony.
| Good housewives were not to be pre-
| vented from weaving their own wool int,
cloth for the use of their own house
| holds; village weavers were not to b,
| forbidden their neiShborhood trade; bu
/ the woollen weavers of England supplied
| more than half of all the exports to tn,
colonies. and had no mind to let woollcr
! manufacture spring up in America i
Parliament: could be induced to prohibi
It.
1t made no great practical difference
to the colonies. though it bred a bitter
thought here and there. Manufactures
were not likely to spring up in America
No man who can have a piece OF LAM
Of his own, sufficient by his labor tc
subsist his family in plenty" said Mr.
Franklin long afterwards. rs poor
enough to be a manufacturer and work
for a master Hence. while there is land
enough in America for our people. there
can be no manufactures to any amount
or value"
But the woollen manufactur in Eng
land meant to take no chances in the
matter; and the colonists did no more
than grumble upon occasion at the re-
straints Of law which they had no
serious thought of breaking.
1t was not breaches OF the acts of
navigation and the acts concerning wool
len manufacture that the ministers found
It necessary to turn their heed to when
the war ended. but. rather. the open
piracies OF the southern seas.
BY the treaty of Ryswick. which
brought peace 069O. France, England,
Holland. and Spain. the high contracting
parties. soemnly bound themselves to
make common cause against buccaneer-
ing. Spain and England had been mutu-
ally bound since 1910 to abolish It
Buccaneering abounded most on the
coasts Of America. The lawless business
had begun long ago. Spain had provoked
It,
She had taken possession Of all Central
and South America and OF the Islands OF
the West Indies and had hidden all
other nations stand of and touch moth
Ing. while her fleets every year for gen.
erations together came home heavy with
treasure She had denied them the right
Of trade: she had forbidden their sea-
men so much as to get stores for their
OWN use anywhere within the waters of
Spanish America.
She treated every shin as an intruder
which she found in the southern seas.
md the penalties she inflicted for in
rusion upon her guarded coasts went
he length Of instant drowning or hang
ngs at the yardarm.
1t was a day when there was no law at |
'ea. Every prudent man supplied his |
ship with arms. and was his own escort: !
md since Spain was the common bully. |
he became the common enemy. English |
md French and Dutch seamen We're not |
kelly very long to suffer themselves to |
'e refused what they needed at her ports;
md after getting what they needed.
hey went on to take whatever they
wanted.
They were intruders anyway. for /
whatever purpose they came, and they
night as we'll. as a witty Frenchman
mong them said. repay themselves be- !
orchard" for the losses they would 1
uffer should Spanish cruisers find and
AXE them.
The spirit OF adventure and OF gain
rev on them nightly.