THe Bill, as it now stands, Enacts, that a Duty of Ten per Cent. ad Valorem, shall be paid to the Company, for all Goods Exported, for the Main­tainance of Forts and Castles.

Which Duty of 10 per Cent. is very unreasonable, and a great deal too much, and that upon these two Accounts:

First, It will fall the heaviest on the Plantations, which can least bear that Tax, and are most to be regarded, that Duty being so great, will render the Negroes the dearer to them.

Secondly, It is very unreasonable, to pay the Company so great a Duty, where they are at no Charge to maintain Forts or Castles, and at the Places where most of the Negroes are pur­chased; viz. from River Vultus to Angola, and to Cape Good­hope, which is about 4000 Miles Sea-coast, there is not one Fort nor Castle, nor any thing like one, nor will the Negroes permit any to be built: Nor is there any Necessity for them, for by long Experience we have always found the Negroes to use kindly, and treat honestly and civilly, all Persons that come to trade with them, nor ever prejudice any, unless they are cheated and abused; and since the Company are at no Charge to maintain Forts nor Castles, it will be a very heavy Tax on the Plantations, to pay a Duty, only to maintain the African Company in their Trade to other Places.

The Bill also Enacts several unusual Oaths to be taken be­fore any Ship can be permitted to sail from England, one of which Oaths is, that the Master of the Ship shall swear, that the Manifest or Particular by him given in, and signed to, to the best of his Knowledge or Belief doth contain, specifie and ex­press [Page 2] all the Goods, Wares and Merchandize, which are laden, or intended to be laden, or put on board the Ship.

This Oath is both unreasonable and impossible to be made, without great danger of Perjury; and that upon these two Accounts.

1. It is unreasonable, in regard the Masters business is only to give a Manifest or Content of the Marks and Numbers of every Parcel of Goods loaden on board his Ship; for it cannot be sup­posed the Master should know what sort of Goods the Mer­chant packs up, much less to swear to it.

2. It is impossible for a Master to swear what any Merchant intends to load on board his Ship, his Duty being only to take them on board when sent, and at his clearing at Custom-house, to give an Account of the Marks and Numbers of each Parcel, and by whom shipt, yet all this is to be done under the penalty of For­feiture of Ship and Goods, and the danger of Perjury into the Bargain.

The Bill also Enacts, that the Master and one of the Owners shall enter into Bonds, in the penalty of the Value of Ship and Goods, that the Ship shall sail directly from England to the Coast of Africa, and from thence directly to the Plantations, or to England.

This Bond is very unreasonable, and destructive to the Trade it self, and that upon three Accounts:

(1.) It will discourage and lessen the Trade, few Merchants that are worth any thing, will willingly enter into such Bonds, where the Penalties are so great, and the Conditions so hard to be performed, (always answerable for anothers Actions) for suppose the Master never so honest, yet his Men may mu­tiny and run away with the Ship, as they did two years ago with one of the Companies Ships, called the Hanibal, which Ship in her roving took another Ship, called the Eagle, and car­ried her to Braseel; the Hanibal also met another Ship, called the William, who was never heard of since; the Master may dye, as often they do in those Voyages, then the Care and Charge of the Ship falls on some other Persons; and to be bound to make Good all their Digressions and Miscarriages, will be very hard, this being to punish a Man for a Crime he did not commit, nor could any ways prevent.

(2.) It is very unreasonable and severe, that after the Ad­venturer hath by the former Misfortunes lost both Ship and [Page 3] Goods, he should be forced to lose as much more, and pay so severely for his Industry.

(3.) This being bound to sail directly to the Coast of Africa, is very destructive to that Trade, and that upon two Accounts:

First, Several Commodities not being to be had in England, without which the Trade to Africa for Negroes cannot be car­ried on, viz. Cowries, Black and White Bafts, Brawles, and some painted Callicoes, those being the Goods most proper to purchase Negroes, so that the greatest part of this Mischief will fall upon the Plantations.

Secondly, This restraining the Liberty to procure Goods pro­per for the Negro Trade, is contrary to any Law now in force, and will put the Trader under the greatest Disadvan­tages and Difficulties, and at the same time make it easie and advantagious to the Scotch, Dutch and French, who will here­by be enabled to beat us quite out, and give them the whole Advantage of that profitable Trade with the Spanish West-In­dies, which they can by no other way attain to. Wherefore such a Liberty, whereon so much depends, can never be the Interest of this Nation to restrain; no Law having as yet prohibited such Liberty of Trade, and is therefore humbly hoped no New Law may be made, which is attended with such ill Consequences.

The Result of these Considerations must terminate in these two Points: First, It will be too dangerous, troublesome and hazardous, to engage in this Trade: And then, Secondly, Shall conclude it will be better to lay it aside, and let our Ships lye by the Walls, than be perpetually in danger of being ruined.

By this means the Plantations will suffer for want of Ne­groes to carry on their Work; there is not a Negroe but makes as much Commodity in a Year, either Sugar, Tobacco, Indigo, &c. as will load one Tun of Shipping, the Increase of which Product will largely increase the Consumption of the English Woollen Manufacture, Incourage Navigation, and Aug­ment the Revenue of the Crown.

A great Quantity of the Product of our Plantation Com­modities, will enable the English Merchant to make large Ex­portations to Forreign Markets, and put them into a Capaci­ty to undersell all other Nations which vye with us in the same Commodities, which will not only discourage their Plan­tations, but encourage our own.

The Planters humbly Hope, the Care of the Plantations Interest and Welfare, will be of greater Moment to your Lordships than any Company with a Joynt-Stock can pretend to.