Old Virginia and her neighbours

;176 OLD VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBOURS.the seventeenth century, men could hardly beblamed if they regarded the use of tobacco as aprecarious fashion." ^of war itIt was also felt that in casewould be dangerous for Virginia to beforced to rely upon importing the manufacturednecessaries of life. Moreover, the absorption ofthe colony's industry in the production ofa singlestaple made it especially easy for the home governmentto depress that industry by stupid legislation,as in the reign of Charles II., when theNavigation Act so seriously diminished the purchasingpower of tobacco. For these variousAttempts toTcasons many attempts were made tocheck It.check the cultivation of the Indian weed.The legislation of the seventeenth century was fullof instances.It was attempted to establish rivalindustries and to produce silk, cotton, and ironlaws were made forbidding any planter to raisemore than 2,000 plants in one year's crop, and soon. All such attempts proved futile ; in spite ofeverything that could be done, tobacco drove allcompetitors from the field.This tobacco was generally cultivated uponlarge estates. The policy of making extensivegrants of land as an inducement to settlers wasbegun at an early date, and all that was needed todevelop the system was an abundance ofcheap cheap labour. English yeomanry, suchlabour.^ O J. .as came to New England, was too intelligentand enterprising to furnish the right sort.English yeomanry, coming to Virginia, came toown estates for itself, not to work them for others.^ Doyle's Virginia, p. 192.