Descriptive account of the principal towns in Scotland

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this trade into the Clyde for a number of years, had
raised the jealousy of the merchants of London, and
other English ports engaged in the same trade, who
accused the Glasgow merchants of fraud upon the re-
venue ; this accusation was followed up by a number
of new restrictions and vexatious regulations being
laid upon the trade, — these impositions were the cause
of a considerable falling off in the importations to the
Clyde, till the year 1735.
The commerce with America continued to advance
till the year 1/50, when a new system commenced,
by opening warehouses in the New World, managed
by partners in the mercantile establishments of Glas-
gow ; this plan not only increased the extent of their
transactions, but opened up new sources of trade, so
that before the unfortunate war which separated these
colonies from the mother country, the trade of Glas-
gow with America had attained its greatest height, —
the annual importations of Tobacco were from 35 to
45,000 hogsheads. In the year immediately pre-
ceding the war, 57,143 hogsheads were imported, of
which 12,000 only were for home consumption.
Such was the extent of the imports of Tobacco into
the Clyde, as to engross more than the half of that
article imported into Britain. In one year, out of
90,000 hogsheads imported, Glasgow alone engros-
sed 49,000.
The American war was a severe blow to the trade
of Glasgow and Greenock — it unfortunately happen-
ed that the balances due by America to Glasgow were
uncommonly great ; and as this trade then employed
nearly the whole of the capital and enterprise of the
City, many of the most opulent merchants were ruined,