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Show Jlppendix. trade of N ortlt America. Time this t•·afle will he nut•ture~l and (JrOtf'cted IJy the B•·ifish go''Cl'ruawnf, I have no dou~t, for many t•easous, which it sf l'ikcs me could be offi•J•t•d, hut 'vhich, not falling immediately within Oae put·view of' these obser·,·ations on the fur trade of Louisiana, J shall Jiwbear to mention. As t.bc Missouri fot•ms only one of fou1· hng·e lwanchcs or the commerce of this united, or as it is still called. tho Northwest company, tla<'y wBI have it in thf'ir pow<'r, not only to break down all sin:"lo atlventurm·s on tho Missour·i, but in the com·se of a f<'w yeat·s to t•ffect fh(' same thing \Vith a company of rnc·t,ehants of' the United Sfafcs, "ho might cute•· into a comtH•titjon with them in this sin!!,'le l•ranch oftheirt•·ade. Nol'isit prohaiJie that om·mc•·clmuts, knowing this fact, will form a company foJ' chc IHII'i>Ost· of carrying on this tr·ade, while fhcy sec the Nor·thwcsf (·ompany pct•mitted IJy out· govct·runcnt to trade on the Missom·i, ami on the westside ofthe 1\'lississippi: ther·ef'ot·•~, th<· Nor·thwest company, on the pt•esent plan, h~vin~ dr·ivcn chc ad' Ventul'el's of small <~apitals fl'om tlwse po1·t ions of out• h•rl'itory, will most prolmhly nr.vt·r af1 et•wat·ds have a •·ivai in any company of out• own mrt'l'hanf s. lly tltrit· <·ontinuance they will aCfJUire sti·cngth, and h<n ·ing Sl'CUI'<'il Hac wish<•d· for monopoly, they will th<'n tt·~ule with tlw Jndians on flwit• own terms; and being possessccl of f he tr·adt~, both on the Mississippi and 1\lissout·i, they can maiH· fhl' pr·ice of tlwil· goods iu both quarters si111il:u·. and 1 hou;;h tlH·y 111ay be e.xet·ssivcly high, J ct being the same they will •·un uo •·isk of disaffecting the Indians by a couaparison oft he p•·i<·cs at\~ hi<1h tla<'y receive their· goods at those places. J f then H a ppcars. 1 hal f he longer we extend the 1:n·ivilrgc to tho NOJ•thwcht •wmpany of continuing their· trade whJJiu om· tct·l'itot·y. the drJticulry of excluding them will inca·casr: can "c begin tht• wol'k of' exolusion too soon? For my owu paa·t] sec not the rwcessity to admit, that out• own mm·elmuts aa·e not at this moment cnmpetont te sup1~Jy the lndiaas ftf the Mis!iOnl'i with su~h ~1ppendiro. 447 quanti til's of gootls n!5 will, at least in the aeccptation of the Indian themselves, be deemed satisfactory anll sufficit•nt for tlu·ia~ ncccssitit~s. All their ideas relative to their necessities aa·e only eomparative, and may be tcst('d IJy a scale of the quantitie~ they havr been in the habit of recf>iving. Such a scale I transmitted to the govct·ument ft·om fort ~tandao. },a•om a r('ga.rc! to the lm.ppiness oft he Indians, it would give me much pleasure to sec this scale Hberally inercascd; yet I am cl<>Rl'ly or Ollinion, that this cficct should be Caused by the rcguhw pt·oga·('ssion of the tr·adc of our own merchants, un~ der th('})ata·onagc and pl'otcction ofourown govcrment. This will afford addilional security to the ta·anquillity ol' our much extended fa•onticr, whHe it will give wealtb to our merchants. 'Ve know thnt the change ofgovcl'nmenl in Louisiana, fl'Ortl Spain to that or tho~Unitcd States, has withd&·awn no part of that capifal fol'merly Cllll)loycd in the trade of tho Missour·i; the same 11ersous still remain, ami continue to prosecute their tra.dc. To these ther(' has IJeeu au neces!;ion of several entcqH'ising Amm•ican mcrclaants, and scvet·a.l others since my retm·n have signified their inten .. tion to embark in that h·alle, within the 1)rescnt y('ar; and tbe whole of those merchants al'e now uncmbar•·asscd IJy the exactions or Slmuish govcrnot·s. Undct· those cii'CUffi· stances is it fair i'ot· us to presume thiLt the Imlians at·e not now su11plict11Jy our own merchauts, with quite as laa•ge an amount in met·chandisc as they had been fotmcl'ly accustomed to t•cceive? Should the quantity thus supplied not fully meet our wishes on li!Jct·al views, towar·tl!i the Indians, is it not soundct· IJOlicy to wait the cct·tain {H'Ogrcss of our O\'\'n tt·a<lc, than in o1·tlcr to sulll~ly this momentary deficiency, to mlmit the aitl of the Northwest company, at the expense of the total loss of' that trade; thereby giving them a carte blanch on which to write in futuro Uach· own terms of traflie with the Inlliao!:l, and thus 1browing them into thch· hands, permit them to be {'ormcd into a t•od of iron, with wlucll, for Ouat Britain, to seoul'~e om· f1•onticr at I>leasure. • |