Convinced of your Zeal for the Interests of America, I take the Liberty of Laying the following thoughts before you, as they are on a Subject that may in Time come to be of very great Importance to that Country.
No Nation can become Independent, till they are able to furnish to themselves, at Least the “necessarries” of Life. America in this present Strugle has felt the truth of this Observation on a pretty severe meassure, particularly from the want of Woollen Goods for Clothes Beds &ca.—Blessed with a Fertile Soil, & with a Climate fit for the Production of Articles Valuable in other Countries, they turn’d their whole Attention to the raissing these, And being amply Suplied in Exchange with all the Necessaries, & Luxuries of Life, they were never Oblidged, nor did they ever think of employing their People in Manufactures of any kind. Were the present Disputes once Settled, in whatever way they may terminate, there will in all Probability be a greater Spirit for Carrying on, & extending Bussiness of every kind, than was ever before known, in America. Their Recent wants & Calamities, will naturally excite this, & it will even be promotted by the Cash at present expended in their Country by the oposite Party.
Then will Manufactures most Likely begin to Appear, & that of Woolen goods from its more immediate Utility, will be seen to be of the utmost importance. Of this we will be convinced, when we consider the immense Consumpt of these kind of Goods by people of every Age & Station, & when we reflect on the Importance of this Manufacture to England, where more hands are employed, & more money Brought into the Country by it, than by almost all their others put together. It may be Objected that the Wool at present in America, is very Course, & only fit for making Goods of the Lowest & cheapest kinds. There is however nothing in this, as the Beginner of every new Manufacture, ought to Confine himself entierly to the making of the Coursest Articles. In these the Labour bears a smaller proportion to the Value of the rude Materials, he runs far less risk of Loss from the Inexperiences of his Work people, and by practice in these they will in Time Acquire more knolodge, & Become fitter for the finner Work.— Two Recent Examples may help to set this in a Clear light. A Company at Newcastle with a Capital of Two thousand pounds began the Glass manufactory at that place; They Commenced Bussiness by making Mirrors, & other articles of that kind of the finest Cristal. In a Short Time they Sunk one half of their Capital on Goods, that stood them higher prime cost, than they could be bought any where, else. Convinced by Experience they Stoped Short, & made a wise Regulation that for some Years they should make nothing, but Bottles of the Coursest Sorts. The good Effects of this they quickly felt, They now make every Article even the finest in that Way, & Instead of being Bankrupt as their first plans would infallably have made them, they now divide 50 percent on their Original Stock. The other Example is more in point, tho unhappily it did not End in the same manner. Some Gentlemen in Scotland Established a Woolen Manufactory at MacEdington. They began by making Super fine Clothes which cost them higher than the Shopkeepers Retailed the best English Clothes, in this manner they wrought up their Capital, were Oblidged to divide the Goods among themselves, & immediately gave up the Bussiness.
The Wool of America is as fit as any in the World for making Course Blankets, Coverlets, Negro Cloths &ca & to these should the Manufactures be at first Confined. These are Bulky Articles, & Cost more in proportion for Carriage than the finner Goods, Consequently the Chance of underselling the importer is greater; They require fewer hands, & less Experience, Consequently are better suitted to Beginners. In Time the Quantity of Wool may be encreassed, & the quality improved, by this Bussiness becoming a Provincial Consern.
Farms in the Hilly & present almost Useless [page] 5th parts of the Country, may be Assigned for Breeding Sheep. Let it be Considered that Clearing Land for Sheep pasture, must be a much eassier Operation, than for any kind of Culture. Let the trees only be cut down at the most Convenient Height, Suppose Two foot from the Ground; The making Potash, it is imagined, might nearly defray the expence of this. The Sheep from their fondness for the Young Shoots, will most effectually prevent their growing again, & the Stocks in a few years Exposed to the Weather will rot down & never more appear. On a Farm of 1000 Acres, (for Sheep Require a pretty extensive Range) 2000 of these usefull Animals may be Supported, & they will yeild the proprietor between 2 & 300 £ per An: With a Beginning of Twenty Ews & One Ram, he may Start this Farm in Ten Years. The Wool of these as by the Adjoined Calculation will produce, even when made into the Coursest Articles, Goods, to the Amount of 500 £ Sterl which is just so much Clear Gain to the country. In America there is every Diversity of Climate that is known in Spain, from whence our finest Wool at present comes; from the different degrees of Heat & Cold in the high grounds & Valeys, almost every Province may enjoy the Advantages that make the Wool of that Country so famous; A Person of no very Sanguine Expectations, may Look forward, & see the American Hills Covered with as Fine flocks, as those of Andalusia are at present.—At any rate warn the Work people, once sufficiently expert, Spanish Wool may as easily be imported into america, as to Britain.
Should Dr Franklin think the plan of Establishing the Woollen Manufacture in America Practicable, the Writer of this, who has been Bred to all the Different Branches of the Bussiness, & who from Twelve years Constant Experience in all the practical parts, thinks himself pretty much Master of it, is Resolved to make the Trial.—From the Centrical Situation of Philadelphia, as well as from the Sober & industrious Character of the people in that Province, he is induced to think that would be the most Eligible place for his Design; And tho he Could make an Essay with the Small Capital he is now possessed of, yet, Could he perswade some of the people of Respect in the Province to be Consernd with him, however Small the Share, Suppose Ten or Twenty pound each, This Consern would render it of more general Importance, would make the Sale of their Manufactures more Easy & Extensive & By their Interest they would greatly Lessen these Difficulties, that a Stranger in Establishing a new Bussiness must by himself undoubtedly Strugle with.
Should You Sir, think the Sceme practicable, Your Aprobation, would have weight enough to render the Execution Easy & almost Certain, And Your Goodness of Heart might further induce you, to Recommend the Author to some of your Acquantances in that part of the World, a Recommendation I should gladly hope you would never be Ashamed of, & which would be a most Particular Favour To Sir Your Most Obt & very hb Servt