604   Appendix to Council Proceedings, 1696-1729.

          C. P.  in future can only be Guess'd at and provided for, by such

                 as are more Conversant in matters of that nature.

           p. 7  I shall now trouble you with a word or two, upon the Gen

                 eral Situation of Affairs in Government, that I may receive

                 your Advices and Instructions in the fullest manner; and I

                 think by taking a View of the relation the people bear to you

                 and you to them, in the points of Interest, I shall best Ex-

                 plain myself to you; You are the Proprietary of the soil, and

                 as such, the people from time to time owe you and may be

                 Compelled to pay you Rents and fines, You and they have

                 for some Years past compounded for their Value another

                 Way, The people grow Jealous, that you have too good a

                 Bargain, You on the other side, have been I believe informed

                 that the Amount of yr Rent Roll exceeds vastly the Equiva-

                 lent you Accept of; 1 must deal so Candidly, as to give my

                 Opinion, that their seems Error in Computation on Both

                 sides; It is Certain the people Could no ways so Easily, so

                 insensibly pay their Rents as by this method now they are in;

                 The Poor, and Orphans, scarce bear any Share in the present

           p. 8  payments, The Husbandmen, from the Produce in Stock and

                 Tillage pay nothing, which is a great Incouragement to Hus-

                 bandry, so necessary and beneficial to a Young Country. In

                 short the traders who purchase Tobacco, bear the greatest

                 Share from the Shoulders of the planter; and yet it is as

                 nothing to such trader; For as Mr Bennett a great and know

                 ing trader here observes, the trader gets as much for his goods

                 as he Can, in Tobacco, having Allways the whip hand of the

                 Planters necessitys for Cloaths and Tools, and when people

                 are aiming at getting such Advances on their goods, as from

                 100 to 200 pr Cent, the Value of 2s p Hogshead Duty is

                 scarce Calculated or even thought of. Thus in Generall is

                 the Composition easy and almost Insensible to the people;

                   To you I think it of a like Nature, since first the payments

                 are regular and good, with the least trouble so much money

                 can be Collected with; I Do not believe your Rent Roll can

                 amount to above 6000 pr Ann, Which Could it be Collected

                 great Defalcations must be allowed for Charges and Losses

                 in the Collection; It would be alimost impracticable to get

                 Bills of Exchange for a regular remittance of the produce, if

                 they could be got, it Could not be Under less than 8 or

           p. 9  10 pr Cent premium The Philadelphians frequently are ob

                 liged to give near that premium for Bills, and the greater

                 the Demand for Bills would grow, the Higher Premium

                 would be Exacted; But alas, they Cannot be Collected,

                 there is not money Enough here to be got to make regular

                 payments from time to time, so that your Officers must,

                 take Corn, Wheat, Beef, Pork, Tobacco or some Commod