Volume 25, Page 604 View pdf image (33K) |
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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
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Volume 25, Page 604 View pdf image (33K) |
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