66 ;6¢ 
; Benjamin Franklin [15 
expended in British manufactures. Perhaps, too, a 
few of the land-owners of Guadaloupe might dwell 
and spend their fortunes in Britain, though probably 
much fewer than of the inhabitants of North Amer- 
ica. I admit the advantage arising to us from these 
circumstances, as far as they go, in the case of Guada- 
loupe, as well as in that of our other West India 
settlements. Yet even this consumption is little 
better than that of an allied nation would be, who 
should take our manufactures and supply us with 
sugar, and put us to no great expense in defending 
the place of growth. 
But, though our own colonies expend among us 
almost the whole produce of our sugar,* can we, or 
ought we to promise ourselves this will be the case 
of Guadaloupe? One £100,000 will supply them 
with British manufactures; and supposing we can 
effectually prevent the introduction of those of 
France, which is morally impossible in a country 
used to them, the other £200,000 will still be spent 
in France, in the education of their children and sup- 
port of themselves; or else be laid up there, where 
they will always think their home to be. 
Besides this consumption of British manufactures, 
much is said of the benfit we shall have from the 
situation of Guadaloupe; and we are told of a trade 
to the Caraccas and Spanish Main. In what respect 
Guadaloupe is better situated for this trade than 
Jamaica, or even our other islands, I am at a loss to 
guess. I believe it to be not so well situated for 
that of the Windward coast, as Tobago and St. 
I Remarks, p. 47.