New York - The Novel

bowed his head noncommittally.
    A mischievous twinkle came into the merchant’s eye.
    “But at the same time, cousin,” he continued, “you may acknowledge that we British are also guilty of a mighty hypocrisy in this matter. For we say that slavery is monstrous, yet only if it takes place on the island of Britain. Everywhere else in the British Empire, it’s allowed. The sugar trade, so valuable to England, entirely depends upon slaves; and British vessels carry thousands every year.”
    “It cannot be denied,” Eliot politely acknowledged.
    “Does it concern you, sir,” Kate now ventured, “that New York is so dependent upon a single trade?”
    The merchant’s blue eyes rested upon her, approvingly.
    “Not too much,” he answered. “You’ve heard of the Sugar Interest, I’ve no doubt. The big sugar planters have formed a group to influence the London Parliament. They have huge wealth, so they can do it. They and their friends sit in the legislature; other Members of Parliament are persuaded or paid. The system reaches into the highest quarters. And this lobbying, as we may call it, of Parliament has been entirely successful. During the last few years, while the sugar trade has been down, the British Parliament has passed two measures to protect it. The greatest is the Rum Ration. Every man serving aboard a British Navy vessel is now given half a pint of rum per day. I do not know what this costs the government, but multiplied across the entire navy and through the whole year, it is a truly astounding quantity of rum—and therefore of molasses from the plantations.” He smiled. “And not only is the Rum Ration their salvation, but that salvation is eternal. For once you give a sailor the expectation of rum as his right, he will not be weaned from it. Stop the rum and you’ll start a mutiny. Better still, as the navy grows, so does the rum ration and the fortunes of the sugar planters. So you see, Miss Kate, New York’s sure foundation is actually the English Sugar Interest.”
    Kate glanced at her father. She knew this cynical use of religious words could not be pleasing to him, though she secretly rather enjoyed the tough frankness of the merchant’s mind.
    “You said there was a second measure, sir,” she said.
    “Yes. The Molasses Act. It says we may only buy molasses from English traders and English ships. That keeps the price of molasses high and protects the English planters. I do not like it so well, because I also manufacture rum here in New York. I could buy my molasses far cheaper from the French traders, if it were allowed.” He shrugged.
    It was now that young John Master chose to speak.
    “Except that we do.” He turned to Kate and grinned. “We get molasses from the Frenchies outside the port and smuggle ’em in. ’Tain’t legal, of course, but it’s what Pa does. I go out on those runs,” he assured her, with some pride.
    The merchant looked at his son with exasperation.
    “That’s enough, John,” he said loudly. “Now what we should all like to hear,” he bowed toward Eliot, “is my cousin’s opinion of tomorrow’s trial.”
    Eliot Master looked down at the table. The truth was, he felt a sense of relief. If, before arriving at the house, his secret terror had been that his daughter might take a liking to her handsome cousin, upon entering the house, seeing the young man cleaned up, and realizing that he must be heir to a fortune far larger than his own in Boston, he had been faced with an uncomfortable proposition: whatever his feelings about these New Yorkers and their business, would he really have the right to deny her, if Kate should wish to marry such a rich kinsman? So far, he had been struggling. But now, by his foolish intervention, this boy had just exposed himself and his family for what they were. Not only slavers, but smugglers as well. Their fortune, so much greater than his own, was explained. He would be polite to them, naturally. But as far as Eliot Master was concerned, they were no better than criminals. His duty as a father, therefore, required him only to ensure that his daughter saw this young scoundrel for what he was.
    Thus satisfied, he turned his mind to the trial of John Peter Zenger.
    If tomorrow’s trial was of great consequence for the American colonies, its origins lay in England. Political events in London never took long to affect Boston and New York. As Dirk Master liked to say: “London gives us laws, wars and whores.”