gor.

The great demands we have for the principal articles of this commerce,
such as hemp, cordage, sailcloth, their linen manufactures of all
sorts, especially for household use, is well known, as we have been
heretofore supplied with these through Great Britain. But perhaps the
commodities suitable for this market may not be so well understood
among us. The principal ones of our country are rice and indigo;
tobacco is a prohibited article. Grain is not wanted, except rice.
From this state is it not evident if we would carry on this commerce
to any considerable extent, as we shall certainly find it proper to
do, we must do it by circuitous voyages in a great measure? For this
purpose the productions of the West Indies and of the continent of
America south of us, such as sugar, coffee, (rum would not answer,)
all sorts of dyeing woods, cochineal, &c. are proper. This may point
out the importance of obtaining a right to cut those woods on the
Spanish shores in the Bay.

The wines, brandies, fruits, and manufactures of France form a great
branch of the trade to this country. This has heretofore been chiefly
carried on by the Dutch; but may we not come in for a share of it?
Many of our commodities are adapted to the markets of France. Might
not our vessels intended for this circuitous voyage, arrive in France
towards the end of the winter, charged with our produce, and take in a
cargo there, so as to be ready to enter the Baltic early in May. The
ports of France, frequented by the Dutch in this carrying trade, are
Havre, Nantes, Bordeaux, Cette, and Marseilles. Havre has an advantage
over all the others, from its proximity to the Baltic, as well as its
situation below the Seine, by means of which all the manufactures of
Paris, Rouen, &c. are easily conveyed thither. The cargoes from Havre
for Russia consist in fine cloths, linens of Rouen, sugar, coffee,
indigo, preserved fruits of all kinds, and of all the manufactures of
Paris. Wines are from Bordeaux. The exports from Nantes are nearly the
same as those from Havre; Cette and Marseilles may be too distant for
us. The greatest navigation between France and this country is from
Havre. I have been so particular upon Havre, because I suppose
Congress would choose to have _one_ free port, (in virtue of our
treaty with France,) in or near the Channel, and I have heard Dunkirk
talked of; but is it not worth consideration, whether a port at the
very extremity of the empire, ca