The English Colonies
Table of Contents
37 The English colonies in North America have progressed the fastest.
38 “Plenty of good land, and liberty to manage their own affairs their own way, seem to be the two great causes of the prosperity of all new colonies.”
39 In the plenty of good land, the English colonies of North America are inferior to the colonies of Spain and Portugal.
The English colonies are not superior in land to some French colonies before the recent war.
“But the political institutions of the English colonies have been more favourable to the improvement and cultivation of this land than those of any of the other three nations.”
Reasons for the Rapid Advancement of the English Colonies
40 1. The engrossing of uncultivated land was more restrained in the English colonies than in any other.
Though the engrossing was not prevented altogether.
The colony law imposes on every proprietor the obligation of improving and cultivating a proportion of his lands, within a limited time.
In case of failure, it declares those neglected lands grantable to any other person. Though it has not been very strictly executed, it has, however, had some effect.
41 2. In Pennsylvania, there is no right of primogeniture.
Lands, like movables, are divided equally among all the children of the family.
In 3 of the provinces of New England, the oldest has only a double share, as in the Mosaical law.
Even if too great a quantity of land should be engrossed by an individual in those provinces, it is likely for it to be sufficiently divided again in a generation or two .
In other English colonies, the right of primogeniture takes place, as in the law of England.
But in all English colonies, the tenure of lands are all held by free socage.
- It facilitates alienation
The grantee of any great land generally finds it for his interest to alienate most of it as fast as he can, reserving only a small quit-rent.
In the Spanish and Portuguese colonies, the right of Majorazzo takes place in the succession of all those great estates.
Such estates all go to one person.
They are are in effect entailed and unalienable.
The French colonies are subject to the custom of Paris.
It is much more favourable to the younger children in the inheritance of land than the law of England.
But in the French colonies, if any part of an estate held by the noble tenure of chivalry and homage is alienated, it is subject to the right of redemption by the heir of the superior or the heir of the family for a limited time.
All the largest estates of the country are held by such noble tenures.
They embarrass alienation.
“But in a new colony a great uncultivated estate is likely to be much more speedily divided by alienation than by succession.” The plenty and cheapness of good land are the principal causes of the rapid prosperity of new colonies.
“The engrossing of land, in effect, destroys this plenty and cheapness.”
“The engrossing of uncultivated land, besides, is the greatest obstruction to its improvement.”
But the labour employed in land improvement and cultivation affords the greatest and most valuable produce to society.
In this case, the produce of labour pays:
- its own wages
- the profit of the stock which employs it
- the rent of the land where it is employed.
The labour of the English colonists are more employed in the improvement and cultivation of land.
It is likely to afford a greater and more valuable produce than any colony of the other three nations.
The labour in those other colonies are diverted towards other employments by the engrossing of land.