Whatever England has been growing to by a
progressive increase of improvement, brought in by varieties of people, by
succession of civilizing conquests and civilizing settlements in a series of
seventeen hundred years, you shall see as much added to her by America in the
course of a single life!" If this state of his country had been foretold to him,
would it not require all the sanguine credulity of youth, and all the fervid
glow of enthusiasm, to make him believe it? Fortunate man, he has lived to see
it! Fortunate, indeed, if he lives to see nothing that shall vary the prospect,
and cloud the setting of his day!
Excuse me, Sir, if turning from such thoughts I resume this comparative view
once more. You have seen it on a large scale; look at it on a small one. I will
point out to your attention a particular instance of it in the single province
of Pennsylvania. In the year 1704 that province called for L11,459 in value of
your commodities, native and foreign. This was the whole. What did it demand in
1772? Why, nearly fifty times as much; for in that year the export to
Pennsylvania was L507,909, nearly equal to the export to all the Colonies
together in the first period.
Pages:
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66