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<DATE>2009-07-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B090522.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A81274">
<STC T="W">c919a</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">45504389</BIBNO>
<VID>171691</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 25 -->
<HEAD>THE CASE OF HIS MAJESTIES Sugar Plantations.</HEAD>
<P>_BEfore <HI>England</HI> had any Sugar Planta|tions of its own, <HI>Portugal</HI> had a|bout Four Hundred Thou&s;and Pounds <HI>per Annum</HI> for Sugar from <HI>England,</HI> to the great Inriching of <HI>Portugal</HI> and Impoveri&s;hing of <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Portugeeze</HI> having &s;et High Cu&s;toms upon their Sugars, and letting none Trade at <HI>Bra&s;il</HI> but them&s;elves, gave the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Encouragement to Adventure upon Planting it, who have &s;o increa&s;ed, that they not only Sup|ply <HI>England</HI> with all the Sugar it wants, whereby 400000 <HI>l.</HI> paid <HI>Portugal</HI> formerly for Sugar is &s;aved; but great Quantities of Sugars have been Tran&s;ported to Foreign Markets, to the va&s;t increa&s;e of the Wealth of the Kingdom, and by con&s;equence the value of the Lands of <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>In the Trade to the <HI>Engli&s;h Sugar Plantations,</HI> about 400 Sail of <HI>Engli&s;h Ships</HI> and 8000 <HI>Seamen</HI> are annually Employed.</P>
<P>All the Ships that go from <HI>England</HI> are Loaden with Manufactures and Provi&s;ions for the Supply of the Plan|tations, with Cloaths, Tools, and Uten&s;ils, and Victu|al, which all pay Cu&s;tom to the King outward, and on which many Families in <HI>England</HI> do &s;ub&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P><PB N="2" REF="2" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 26 -->
The Planters have at their Co&s;t, brought above 100000 Negroes from <HI>Affrica,</HI> whereby &s;o many New Subjects are added to the Crown.</P>
<P>The <HI>French King</HI> taking Notice of the great Wealth and Strength the Sugar Plantations bring to the Kingdom of <HI>England,</HI> and al&s;o of the difficulties the <HI>Engli&s;h Plantati|ons</HI> are under, by rea&s;on of the Acts of Trade and Navi|gation, which enjoyning all the Sugars of the <HI>Engli&s;h Plantations</HI> to be brought home to <HI>England,</HI> and there to be Landed, and pay the King a Cu&s;tom before it can be Tran&s;ported to any Forreign Markets, which is a great Charge, hath thought it feazible, and with great Application hath &s;et him&s;elf to become Ma&s;ter of that Trade; and the <HI>Dutch</HI> have done the &s;ame, and grant|ing more ea&s;e to their Planters, in producing and di&s;po&s;ing of their Sugars, than the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> have, the <HI>French</HI> are &s;o far increa&s;ed, that their Sugar Plantations, which are <HI>Martinico, Guadeloupe, Marigalant, Grenados,</HI> St. <HI>Chri&s;tophers, Kayan,</HI> and part of <HI>Hi&s;paniola,</HI> do already find an Employment for Two hundred Sail of Ships, and Seamen proportionable, andare increa&s;ing daily: And the <HI>Dutch</HI> have already many Ships annually Loaden with Sugar from <HI>Surinam,</HI> which they make a Bu&s;ine&s;s of State to Improve.</P>
<P>This Increa&s;e of the Sugar Trade of the <HI>French</HI> and <HI>Dutch,</HI> hath brought tho&s;e Sugars that were worth be|tween 5 and 6 <HI>l.</HI> the Hundred Weight, when the la&s;t <HI>Book of Rates</HI> was made, to be worth now not above 35 <HI>s.</HI> out of which the Planter pays 5 <HI>s.</HI> Cu&s;tom, and 4&frac12; <HI>per</HI> Hundred to the King in the Plantations; in&s;omuch that an E&s;tate that was formerly worth 2000 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> in the Plantations, is not now worth 600 <HI>l. per Annum;</HI> and if any further Impo&s;ition be laid, will yield little or no|thing, to the undoing many Thou&s;and <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Families, many of which re&s;ide in <HI>England;</HI> for which Rea&s;on the
<PB N="3" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 26 -->
Planters intended to have Addre&s;s'd to this <HI>Parliament,</HI> for reducing the <HI>Book of Rates</HI> to the pre&s;ent <HI>Value</HI> of <HI>Sugars.</HI></P>
<P>This low Value of the Commodity cau&s;es the Inhabi|tants of the <HI>Engli&s;h Colonies</HI> to for&s;ake them, and remove to other places, whil&s;t the King of <HI>France</HI> u&s;eth all Ima|ginable Indu&s;try to &s;trengthen and fill his Plantations; (&s;ome of which are in &s;ight of ours) with Inhabitants, having made <HI>Dunkirk</HI> a Free Port for his own Sugars, where no Cu&s;toms are paid in or out; by rea&s;on of which the Markets of <HI>Flanders</HI> and <HI>Holland,</HI> &amp;c. are furni&s;hed with <HI>French Sugars</HI> at 2 <HI>s.</HI> 6 <HI>d. per</HI> Hundred cheaper than the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> can, by rea&s;on of the Acts of Trade and Na|vigation.</P>
<P>This Increa&s;e of the Strength of the <HI>French Plantations</HI> and decrea&s;e of the <HI>English,</HI> hath made many of the Plant|ers con&s;ider of with-drawing their Stocks, for fear if a War &s;hould happen with <HI>France</HI> all would be lo&s;t.</P>
<P>The <HI>English</HI> Sugar Trade being apparently decaying under the pre&s;ent Impo&s;itions upon Sugar, can by no means bear more and &s;ub&s;i&s;t; and it is of great advan|tage to <HI>France</HI> to have our Plantations ruined by more Impo&s;itions on their Sugars: for &s;hould the <HI>French</HI> gain the Sugar Trade from the <HI>English, England</HI> would lo&s;e the Imployment of 400 Sail of Ships and 8000 Seamen, and <HI>France</HI> would gain it, which would differ the pre&s;ent Ballance of Seamen 16000, be&s;ides the lo&s;s of a Native Commodity, that hath brought &s;o much Wealth to the Kingdom, and would al&s;o be the lo&s;s of the Trade of <HI>Africa</HI> for Negro's.</P>
<P>It hath been ever the Practice and Policy of Trading Nations, to &s;et the Publick Taxes on Foreign Commodi|ties and not tho&s;e of their own growth.</P>
<P>In the time of the U&s;urper <HI>Cromwell,</HI> when all things
<PB N="4" REF="3"><!-- PDF PAGE 27 -->
were raked into to find a Revenue to &s;upport his U&s;ur|pation, no Exci&s;e was put on Sugars of the growth of the <HI>English</HI> Plantations.</P>
<P><HI>England</HI> is an I&s;land who&s;e Wealth and Strength con|&s;i&s;ts in Trade, which cannot be pre&s;erved but by being Ma&s;ter at Sea; and the Plantation Trade is near one half of the Navigation of <HI>England,</HI> and whether it be &s;o con|venient to hazard the lo&s;s of it by over-burthening it, &s;ince an Impo&s;ition may be &s;et on Commodities of Foreign growth, that will be equivalent, is humbly &s;ubmitted.</P>
<P>And whereas &s;ome &s;eem to be of Opinion that an Im|po&s;ition will fall upon the Buyer only, and not hurt the Planter, it is a Mi&s;take for the Rea&s;ons following.</P>
<P>For it was found by Experience in the time of the late Rebellion, when there was an Exci&s;e impo&s;ed, the Buyer refu&s;ed to buy Commodities of the Importer, unle&s;s he would clear the Exci&s;e, &s;o that the Importer came gene|rally to pay the Exci&s;e as well as the Cu&s;toms. And it is well known that all Commodities are in Value as there is a greater or le&s;&s;er quantity of them at the Market. If the Impo&s;ition doth not le&s;&s;en the quantity of Sugar imported, it cannot rai&s;e the price, and then by con&s;e|quence the Impo&s;ition mu&s;t be born wholly by the Planter. If it doth le&s;&s;en the quantity of Sugar import|ed, it le&s;&s;ens the Imployment of our Shipping and Sea|men, and the Kings Revenue, and will con&s;train tho&s;e Planters who are forced to leave Making Sugar, to for|&s;ake the Plantations, as having no Imployment there; which will &s;o weaken them of Defendants, as they will be in hazard to become a prey to the <HI>French</HI> or their own Negro's; which will be a total lo&s;s of that Trade to this Kingdom, and be the ruin of many Thou&s;and <HI>English</HI> Families, vvho in <HI>England</HI> and the Plantations &s;ub&s;i&s;ted by that Trade of making Sugar, or by fur|ni&s;hing Cloaths, Tools and Uten&s;ils.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS</TRAILER>
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