they are
likely to be the largest cities in America. Philadelphia has more than
3000 houses, and more than 20000 inhabitants. It is regularly laid out
at right angles, and the streets extend every year.

Virginia has the fewest villages and only one little town, Williamsburg,
its capital. The population is scattered and every family lives on its
own tobacco plantation. The Chesapeake and its affluents reach every
where and the Colonists bring their tobacco by water to the Bay where it
is loaded on sea going vessels.

New York has great advantages for trading with the native Indians, by
means of the Hudson to Albany, and thence by smaller streams to Oswego
and Lake Ontario, where the great fairs for dealing with the Indians are
held. From Lake Ontario there is water way to Lake Superior. The Indians
bring their skins and hides from the west by water to Oswego, and New
York excludes traders from Pennsylvania. Philadelphia trades with New
Jersey over the Delaware River. Salt is imported in 50 or 60 vessels
from Spanish South America and the Cape Verde Islands and Senegal, where
it is made from saltwater, by drying in the sun.

The Colonies are greatly restricted in their export trade, yet they have
their own vessels, but they are not allowed to export their products,
especially those needed for ship building, such as masts, ship timber,
iron, copper, hemp, flax, cotton, indigo, tobacco, tar, potash, skins
and furs,--they must all be sent to England and sold there for export in
British ships with British sailors, and where there are English Trading
Companies, as in the East Indies, the Colonies cannot trade directly. In
1765 the trade with the Spanish and French West Indies was forbidden,
but the results were so bad that this restriction was removed. The
Colonies ship food stuffs to the Portuguese Sugar islands, meal, butter,
meat, grain, wood and timber for house building etc., and bring back
Molasses, from which Rum is made. Trade with the Spanish Americas is
contraband, but the Colonists run the risk for the sake of the hard
money it brings. Great Britain in 1766 established two free ports in the
West Indies, one in Jamaica, the other in Dominica, the French have one
in St. Domingo, the Dutch one in St. Eustache, the Danes one in St.
Thomas,--the English want to prevent the contraband trade with Spain,
but have made the restriction that foreigners can receive all goods free
of duty, but must sell only for cash, and no