90 Correspondence of Governor Sharpe.

Letter Bk. IV

by a provisional Clause it is ordered that no Liquors imported
in any Vessel belonging to the Inhabitants of Maryland shall
be liable to the Duty above mentioned, but no such Clause
ought to be inserted in any other Act. By the Act for Emit-
ting & making Current £90000 Current Money of Maryland
in Bills of Credit which was made in the year 1732 as above-
mentioned It is directed & enacted " for the better support-
ing the Credit of the said Bills there shall be a Duty of one
shilling & three pence sterling paid to the several Naval
Officers for every Hhd of Tobacco & upon every 400 lbs of
Tobacco be it in Chest or Case which shall be exported out of
this Province from & after the 29^th Day of Sept^r next (viz 1732)
by the several Masters of Ships or other Vessels exporting
the same in Bills of Excha for & during the Space oi Thirty
one years next ensuing the said 29^th Day of September for the
Payment whereof the several Naval Officers shall be obliged
to take good & sufficient security from all Persons exporting
any Tobacco out of this Province as in case of any other Duty
now payable, for which Duty the Naval Officers & their
Sureties already given or to be given shall be answerable &
chargeable, for which the said Naval Officers shall be allowed
the usual Salary or Commission as they have & by Law are
allowed for Collecting other Duties." Now suppose the
quantity of Tobacco to be exported annually will on an average
be 30000 Hhds the Duty of One Shilling & sixpence p^r Hhd
will amount to£225O & suppose the quantity oi Rum & other
Spirituous Liquors imported to be 1 70000 Gallons the Duty of
Three pence p^r Gallon thereon will amount to £2 125 & these
two sums added together make £4375 out of which if we
deduct Eight p^r Cen-t (the several Naval Officers Commission
for Collecting) there will remain £4025. In Support or Aid
of these Duties & to prevent Deficiencies Duties may be like-
wise laid on all Sugar & Melasses to be imported (which at
present are not subject to any Duty) for Instance One Penny
p^r Gallon on Melasses & six pence p^r hundred weight on Sugar
then as there are at least 180000 Ibs of Sugar imported annu-
ally the Duty thereon would amount to £45 & the Duty of a
penny p^r Gallon on 30000 Gallons of Melasses would be £125
but I believe these two Duties together would bring in £200.
As all the Produce of this Country except what is consumed
here is sent either to Great Britain, the Sugar Islands, neigh-
bouring Colonies or Madeira I question whether a more equal
Tax could be laid on the Inhabitants than what I have pro-
posed, for those who make Tobacco pay a small Duty on what
they sell or send to Market & tho the other produce of the
Country as Indian Corn Flour Bread Pork &c. is not subjected
to any Duty on Exportation yet as the Merchant Traders