Page:Memoir upon the negotiations between Spain and the United States of America which led to the treaty of 1819.djvu/63

53 quality; they are coarse, and are butt little consumed. The same may be said of the manufactures of wool, flax, and hemp: the Americans import from foreign countries what they require for clothing; the linens and cloths from their manufactories are very inferior and coarse, besides being but of trifling quantity. Among the causes which impede the progress and encouragement of their manufactories, may be reckoned the following: the excessive luxury of all clssesclasses [sic]; the exorbitant price of labour; the copious introduction of goods from England, France and Germany; the exclusive passion for commerce, in all those who hold capital; and the want of means and faculty in the government to alter this combination of circumstances, and to redeem the country from their dependence upon foreign nations.

During the late war with Great Britain, an effort was made to promote the manufacture of fine cloths, and to provide for the deficiency of supply from that nation; and the result was, that some few yards of cloth were woven, as good as the best from English manufactories, but it was doubly expensive; the enterprise was abandoned, and the peace between the two nations dispelled even the idea of any similar attempt.

The manufactories of hats have been multiplied and brought to perfection in the principal cities. That of Danbury, in Connecticut, has great reputation; and in Boston, New York, Philadelphia