ABSTRACT
The sphere of activity open to the agent was by virtue of the facts almost coextensive with the whole system of the English government. In practice, however, some branches were far more prominent than others, and during the greater part of the eighteenth century, the largest share of the agent’s solicitations took place in connection with the Board of Trade and Plantations. The applications to Parliament made by the agents and other members of the West India interest were facilitated by the frequent presence of agents, planters, and merchants in the House of Commons. The policy of the Navigation Acts, the duties on sugar, and the methods of carrying on the traffic in slaves were subjects in connection with which the authority of Parliament was constantly being brought before the minds of the West Indian colonists. Mr. E. P. Tanner, in writing of the colonial agencies of the North American colonies, speaks of the agent as “a general lobbyist.”
