320 Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1696/7-98.

           Lib. H. D.     which Oath you & the Officers of the Customs respectively

                 are authorised to Adminster in manner thereby directed, and

                 being attested by you and them so adminstring the same &

                 registred in due form according to the specimen hereunto

                 annexed. You shall not faile immediately to transmitt a dupli

                 cate thereof to the Comissrs of the Customs in London in order

                 to be entred in a Generall Register to be there kept for that

                 purpose with penalty upon every Ship or Vessell trading to

                 from or in any of the said Plantations in America after the said

                 25th day of March and not having made proofe of her built &

                 property as thereby directed That she shall be liable to such

                 prossecution & forfeiture as any forreigne Ship (Except Prizes

                 condemned in his Majties high Court of Admiralty) would for

                 trading with the Plantations by the said law be liable unto,

                 with this proviso That all such Ships as have been or shall be

                 taken at Sea by Letters of Mart or Reprisall & Condemnation

                 thereof made in the High Court of Admiralty of England as

                 Lawfull prize shall be specially Registred mentioning the Cap

                 ture and Condemnation instead of the time & place of build

                 ing with proofe also upon Oath That the entire property is

                 English before any such prize be allowed the Priviledge of an

                 English built Ship according to the meaning of the said Act.

                 And that no Ships name Registred be afterwards changed wth

                 out Registring such Ship de Novo wch by the said Act is

                 required to be done upon any Transfer of property to another

                 Port & delivering up the former Certificate to be Cancelled

                 under the same penalties & in the like Method. And in case

                 any alteration of Property in the same Port by the Sale of one

                 or more shares in any Ship after Registring thereof such sale

                 shall allwayes be acknowledged by endorsement on the Certifi

                 cate of Register before two wittnesses in order to prove that

                 the intire property in Such Ship remaines to some of the Sub

                 jects of England if any dispute shall arise concerning the same.

                 Eighteenthly. And whereas notwithstanding the many good

                 laws made from time to time for preventing of frauds in the

                 Plantation trade wch have been enumerated in these & former

                 instructions, It is manifest that verry great abuses have been

                 and continue still to be practised to the prejudice of the same,

                 which abuses must needs arise either from the insolvency of

                 the persons who are accepted for security or from the remiss

                 ness or connivance of such as have been or are Governours in

                 the severall Plantations who ought to take care that those per

                 sons who give Bond should be duly prossecuted in case of

                 nonperformance.

                  You are to take notice that his Majestie takes the good of

                 the Plantations and the Improvement of the Trade thereof by

                 a strict and punctuall observance of the severall Laws in force