Pages 107-123 
|  Pages 141-160
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| Pages 107-123
| Pages 141-160
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| AT A General Assembly, BEGUN AND HELD AT | |||
|
Wm. Gooch, esq. governor. | ||
 CHAP. I. | |||
| Preamble. | ||
| I. WHEREAS the act of Assembly, made in the third and fourth years of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, an act, for amending the staple of tobacco, and for preventing frauds in his majesty's customs; and the several subsequent acts made, for amending and continuing the same; have been found, by experience, to be very useful and beneficial laws; greatly tending, as well to the improvement of the staple of this colony, and preventing frauds in the customs, as to the encouragement of fair and upright trade and dealing: Which said acts will expire on the ninth day of November next. And whereas, through the various alterations and amendments of the said first recited act, in and by the said subsequent acts, the said laws are rendered somewhat difficult to be understood; whereby the more ignorant sort may be exposed to the pains and penalties therein, for want of sufficient knowledge of the same. And this present General Assembly being fully convinced of the importance of the said |
| laws to the good and welfare of this colony; and having also a due regard for the ease and security of the people thereof, have thought it expedient, that the said laws, with some amendments, should be re-enacted and reduced into one act: | |
| II. Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Burgesses of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That for the more effectual preventing the exportation of trash, bad, unsound, and unmerchantable tobacco, all tobacco, which from and after the ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty two, shall be exported out of this colony, (except only such tobacco as hath been or shall be viewed and inspected, according to the directions of the laws now in force,) shall be first brought to some, or one of the public warehouses herein after mentioned; and shall be there viewed and inspected, in manner, as herein after is expressed. | All tobacco exported after Nov. 9, 1742, shall be inspected. |
| III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That no person shall put on board, or receive into any ship, sloop, boat, or other vessel, in order to be exported therein, any tobacco not packed in hogsheads, casks, or cases, upon any pretence whatsoever; nor in any hogshead, cask, or case, to be in that, or any other ship, sloop, or vessel, exported out of this colony, before the same shall have been viewed and inspected, according to the directions of this act, (except as before excepted:) But that all tobacco whatsoever, to be received or taken on board any ship, sloop or other vessel, and to be therein exported, or to be carried or put on board any other ship, sloop, or vessel, for exportation, as aforesaid, shall be received or taken on board at the several warehouses, for the [that] purpose herein after mentioned, or some, or one of them, and at no other place or places whatsoever. And every master, mate or boatswain, which shall arrive in this colony, in order to lade tobacco, during the continuance of this act, shall, before the said ship or vessel be permitted to take on board any tobacco whatsoever, make oath, before the naval officer of the district wherein such ship or vessel shall arrive, (which oath the said naval officer is hereby impowered and required to administer,) that they will not permit any tobacco whatsoever, to be taken on board their respective ships or vessels, except | None to be taken on board for exportation, but from a public
warehouse only. Masters of ships, &c. shall be sworn. Penalties for taking on |
| the same be packed in hogsheads, casks, or cases, stamped by some inspector legally thereunto appointed: Which oath they shall subscribe in a book, to be kept by the naval officer, for that purpose. And if any master shall cause any person who is not really, and bona fide, mate or boatswain, to come on shore and take such oath, he shall, for the said offence, forfeit and pay twenty pounds. And if any master or commander of any ship or vessel, shall take on board, or suffer to be taken on board the ship or vessel, whereof he is master, any tobacco brought from any other place, than some, or one of the public warehouses herein after mentioned; or any hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, not stamped by some lawful inspector; or shall suffer to be brought on board any tobacco, except in hogsheads, casks, or cases stamped, as aforesaid, every such master and commander shall forfeit and pay twenty pounds of lawful money, for every hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, which shall not have been brought from one of the said public warehouses, or which shall not be stamped, as aforesaid: And moreover, every such hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, shall be forfeited. | board uninspected tobacco. |
| IV. And forasmuch, as the permitting tobacco in bulk or parcels to be water born, on pretence of being carried to the warehouses established by this act, may give great opportunity to the clandestine running the same on board the ships lying at or near the said warehouses; whereby the evil of exporting trash tobacco may be still continued: | |
| V. Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any person taking upon himself to carry any tobacco to or from any of the said warehouses, in his sloop, boat, or other vessel, for hire, shall presume to take on board, or permit or suffer to be taken on board, any tobacco whatsoever, in bulk or parcels; such tobacco shall not only be forfeited, and may be seised by any person or persons whatsoever, but such master or skipper offending herein, shall forfeit and pay twenty shillings for every hundred pounds weight of such tobacco; and so proportionably for a greater or lesser quantity. And the master or commander of any ship or vessel wherein any tobacco, in bulk or parcels, shall be found, shall, over and above the forfeiture thereof, be subject and liable to the same penalty: To be recovered, if it doth not exceed five pounds, before any | Or parcels not packed. |
| two justices of the peace of any county, one of them to be of the quorum, near the place where such ship, sloop, boat, or other vessel, shall lie: And if it exceeds five pounds, in any court of record, by action of debt, wherein the plaintiff shall revover costs. And every servant, slave, or other person, emploied in navigating any such sloop, boat, or other vessel, who shall connive at, or conceal the taking or receiving on board any tobacco, in bulk or parcel, as aforesaid, shall, by order of such justices, receive, on his bare back, thirty nine lashes, well laid on. And if such sloop, boat, or other vessel, be under the care and management of a servant, who cannot satisfy and pay the said penalty; then such servant, and every other person emploied under him, who shall be guilty of conniving at, or concealing the taking on board tobacco, in bulk or parcel, as aforesaid, shall upon complaint thereof made to any justice of the peace, have and receive, by order of the said justice, thirty nine lashes, well laid on. And if any servant shall be again trusted with the care and management of any sloop, boat, or other vessel, and shall be convicted a second time, of taking or receiving on board the same, any tobacco, in bulk or parcel, contrary to the directions of this act, the owner of such servant, shall forfeit and pay the like sum of twenty shillings, for every hundred pounds weight of such tobacco, so taken or received on board, in bulk or parcel: And shall also forfeit and pay five shillings for every day such servant shall thereafter be emploied as skipper or master of any sloop, boat, or other vessel, to him belonging: To be recovered, and applied, as aforesaid. | |
| VI. Provided always, That nothing herein before contained, shall be construed to prohibit any person from carrying, or causing to be carried to the said warehouses, in any boat, or other vessel, any tobacco, in bulk or parcels, for the paiment of his or her levies, debts, or other duties; nor to prohibit any person to put or take on board any sloop, boat, or other vessel, any hogsheads, casks, or cases of tobacco, to be water born to any warehouse or warehouses appointed by this act, so as the same be not carried out of the naval officer's district, wherein the said tobacco shall be made; nor to prohibit the owner of any tobacco, to transport his crops, or any part thereof, in hogsheads, casks, or cases, from one plantation to another, for the better handling | But tobacco packed, or in parcels, may be transported to a warehouse, or from one plantation to another, within the same district. |
| and managing thereof; nor any purchaser of tobacco, from bringing the same by water, to be repacked, sorted, stemmed, or prized, before the same be carried to the said warehouses, so as such last mentioned tobacco be packed in hogsheads, casks, or cases: but no tobacco, on any pretence whatsoever, shall be carried or transported by water to be inspected, out of the district limited and appointed for the several naval officers of this colony, wherein the same is or shall be made; or being so carried, shall not be inspected or passed by any inspectors, knowing the same to be made out of such district, upon pain of forfeiting, by the owner of such tobacco, and the inspectors who shall pass the same, twenty shillings for every hogshead, to the informer. | |
| VII. Provided nevertheless, That it shall and may be lawful for the inhabitants of Fleet's Bay, on the south side of Indian creek, in the county of Lancaster, to carry their tobacco by water, to the public warehouses at Indian creek: And the inhabitants of Warwicksqueak Bay, and the parts adjacent to carry their tobacco by water, to be passed at any warehouse in the upper district of James river. | Proviso |
| VIII. And be it further enacted, That if the skipper of any sloop, boat, or other vessel, or other person or persons, to whom the care and management thereof shall be entrusted, shall land or put on shore, any hogshead, cask or case of tobacco, put on board the same, to be carried to any public warehouse, at any other place or places, than the warehouse or warehouses, by this act appointed, for the reception and inspection of tobacco, or at some, or one of them, or the wharfs or other landing to such warehouse or warehouses belonging; or shall put the same on board any other vessel, or suffer the same to be done, so as the same be not delivered at some of the said public warehouses, without fraud or embezzlement; or shall open any hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, so as aforesaid water born and landed, and take thereout any tobacco, before the same be viewed by the said inspectors, according to the directions of this act; or after the same has been viewed, and take thereout any tobacco; every such offence shall be adjudged felony, and the offender or offenders shall suffer, as in case of felony. | Fraudulent deliver, or imbezzlement of tobacco, felony. |
| IX. Provided always, That nothing herein before contained, shall be construed to prohibit the landing or putting on shore, any hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco out of any sloop, boat, or other vessel, which by distress of weather, shall be forced on ground or become leaky, so as much landing be really, and bona fide, for the preservation of the tobacco laden in such vessel: And that the same be, with all convenient speed, carried thereafter to the warehouse, or ship, (as the case shall be) to which it was designed, without embezzlement. | Exception. |
| X. Provided also, That if by any of the accidents aforesaid, or negligence of the master or skipper of any vessel, any tobacco which hath been viewed and stamped, shall, in its carriage to the ship in which it is intended to be exported, receive so much damage, as that the master of such ship will not receive it on board; every hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco so damnified, shall with all convenient speed be carried to some warehouse appointed by this act, and there lodged, until the owner of the said tobacco, until the owner of the said tobacco, or master of the vessel in which it was damaged, shall have separated the same and repacked the good tobacco; and then the same shall be viewed and stamped, by the inspectors attending such warehouse, without fee or reward. | Damaged tobacco shall be reviewed. |
| XI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all tobacco, which shall be brought to any of the public warehouses herein after mentioned, shall be viewed, examined, and inspected, by two persons to be thereunto appointed, who shall be called inspectors; which said inspectors shall be appointed in the manner following: That is to say, the courts of the several counties within this colony, wherein any of the public warehouses, appointed by this act, are established, shall and may, and they are hereby required, once in every year, and no oftener, at their respective county courts, held in the months of August, or September, or one of them, to nominate and recommend to the governor, or commander in chief, for the time being, for so many offices of inspection, as are or shall be in their respective counties, four fit and able persons, reputed to be skilful in tobacco, for the execution of the office of inspectors: And where two warehouses, under one and the same inspection, happen to lie in different counties; in that case, the courts of each county shall | County courts to nominate and recommend inspectors annually, to the governor. |
| nominate and recommend two for such inspection: − Which nomination, the said courts shall cause to be entered upon record; and the clerk of the said courts shall, and they are hereby required forthwith to transmit a certificate of the same to the secretary's office: and out of the said four persons so nominated and recommended for each inspection, the governor or commander in chief, with the advice and consent of the council, shall and may choose and appoint two to execute the office of inspectors at such inspection. And in default of such nomination and recommendation by the county courts, as aforesaid, the governor and commander in chief, with the like advice and consent, shall and may appoint such persons as he shall think fit, to be inspectors at such inspections, for which no nomination or recommendation shall be made, as aforesaid. And also, in case of the death, resignation, or removal of any insprctor, the governor, or commander in chief, shall and may appoint any person named in the last recommendation from the county court, for that inspection, where the vacancy shall happen, to succeed him, until the next nomination and appointment of inspectors: But if neither of the persons, named in such last recommendation, will accept the said office; in that case, the governor, or commander in chief, may appoint any other person he shall think fit. | On failure of nomination, &c. governor may appoint
inspectors. |
| XII. Provided always, That no justice of the peace, being an inspector, or recommended to be an inspector, shall have, or be allowed a vote in the nomination and recommendation of persons to be inspectors, as aforesaid. And that where any person, once recommended, as aforesaid, and executing the office of an inspector, in pursuance of such recommendation, shall be again recommended the next succeeding year, the same shall be a sufficient appointment to him, to continue in the said office for another year, without any new commission: And so from year to year, so long as he shall be so recommended, as aforesaid. | Justices being inspectors, or recommended may not vote at a
nomination. Continuance in office. |
| XIII. Provided always, That every person appointed, or to be appointed, an inspector, by virtue of this act, shall, before he enters upon the execution of the said office, enter into bond, with good security, in the penalty of two hundred pounds, payable to his majesty, his heirs and successors, with condition, for the true and faithful performance of his duty, according to the | Inspectors shall give bond. |
| directions of this act. And shall also take the following oath: That is to say, | And be sworn. |
| You shall swear, that you will diligently and carefully view and examine all tobacco brought to any public warehouse or warehouses, where you are appointed to be inspector, and all other tobacco which you shall be called upon to view and inspect: And that you will not receive any tobacco, that is not, in your judgment, sound, well conditioned, merchantable, and clear of trash; nor receive, pass, or stamp any tobacco, or hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, prohibited by one act of Assembly, intituled, an act, for reducing the laws made for amending the staple of tobacco; and for preventing frauds in his majesty's customs, into one act of Assembly: And that you will, in all things, well and faithfully discharge your duty in the office of an inspector, according to the best of your skill and judgment, and according to the directions of the said act, without fear, favour, affection, malice, or partiality. So help you God. | |
| Which oath shall and may be taken before the governor, or commander in chief, of this colony, for the time being, or before the general court, or court of the county where such inspector shall reside. And if any person shall presume to execute the office of an inspector, before he has given such bond, and taken such oath, as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay five hundred pounds. | Penalty. |
| XIV. And be it further enacted, That all inspectors, to be appointed, by virtue of this act, shall constantly attend their duty at the warehouse or warehouses under their charge, from the tenth day of November to the last day of July yearly, (except Sundays, and the holydays observed at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, or when hindered by sickness:) And afterwards, they, or one of them, shall constantly attend at the same (except on Sundays) to deliver out tobacco for exportation, 'til all the tobacco remaining there the last day of July, shall be so delivered. And every inspector neglecting to attend, as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay, to the party grieved, five shillings for every neglect; or shall be liable to the action upon the case of the said party grieved, to recover all such damages which he or she shall have sustained, by occasion of any such neglect, together with his or her full costs, at the election of such party. And all inspectors shall uncase and break every hogshead, cask, and case of | Duty of inspectors. They must attend to July 31. Five shillings per day, or damages, recoverable, upon non-attendance. |
| tobacco, brought to them to be inspected as aforesaid: And if they shall agree, that the same is good, sound, well conditioned, merchantable and clear of trash, then such tobacco shall be weighed in scales, with weights of the lawful standard; and the hogshead, cask, or case, shall be stamped and marked with a hot iron, in the presence of the said inspectors, or one of them, with the name of the warehouse, at which the tobacco therein contained, shall be viewed and inspected as aforesaid; and also with the tare of the hogshead, cask, or case, and quantity of nett tobacco therein contained. But if the said two inspectors shall at any time disagree, concerning the quality of any tobacco brought for their inspection to any warehouse under their charge they shall, without delay, or as soon as conveniently may be, call from the next adjacent warehouse or inspection, another inspector, who shall determine the difference, and pass or reject such tobacco. And where any inspector shall happen to be sick, and unable to attend his duty; in that case, it shall be lawful for any other inspector of any adjacent warehouse, to view, inspect, and pass tobacco, in his room. And when any inspector shall bring his own tobacco to the warehouse, whereof he is inspector, the same shall not be passed or stamped, unless it be first viewed, examined, and found good, and qualified as aforesaid, by the other inspector there attending, and by one or both the inspectors, as the case shall require, from the next adjacent warehouse. | Directions for viewing and stamping. And in case of disagreement, or sickness. Inspectors own notes, how to be passed. |
| XV. And be it further enacted, That if any tobacco shall be brought to any of the said warehouses, for the discharge of any public or private debt or contract, the said inspectors or one of them, after they have viewed, examined, and weighed the said tobacco, according to the directions of this act, shall be obliged to deliver to the person bringing the same, as many promissory notes, under the hands of the said inspectors, as shall be required, for the full quantity of tobacco received by them; in which shall be expressed, whether the tobacco so received, be sweet-scented or Oronoko, stemmed or leaf: Which notes shall, and are hereby declared to be current in all tobacco paiments whatsoever, according to the species expressed in the note, within the county wherein such inspectors shall officiate, and in any other county next adjacent thereto, and not separated | Transfer notes. |
| therefrom by any of the great rivers or bay herein after mentioned; that is to say, James river, below the mouth of Appomattox; York, below West Point; Rappahannock river, below Taliaferro's Mount; or by the great Bay of Chesapeak, and shall be transferable from one to another; in all such paiments, (except as herein is excepted;) and shall be paid and satisfied by the inspector or inspectors who signed the same, upon demand: And for every hogshead of tobacco brought to any public warehouse, for the discharge of any public or private debt, in good cask of such dimensions, as herein after expressed, there shall be allowed by the inspector thereof, to the person bringing the same, after the rate of four pounds of tobacco for every one hundred pounds, the tobacco therein contained, shall weigh, after the same shall be viewed and passed; so as such allowance does not exceed thirty pounds of tobacco for each hogshead. And the said inspectors shall, and they are hereby obliged to make every hogshead, by them paid away, in discharge of any note by them given, as aforesaid, to contain eight hundred and fifty pounds of nett tobacco, at the least: And for every such hogshead of tobacco by them paid away, well lined and nailed, fit for shipping, there shall be paid by the person receiving such hogshead, five shillings for inspecting, and six pence for nails, whether the tobacco therein contained be sweet-scented or Oronoko: Which said sum of six pence the said inspectors shall and may retain in their hands, for their own use, to reimburse them the expence of providing nails: And the person demanding or receiving tobacco, in discharge of notes, as aforesaid, shall allow to the inspectors thirty pounds of tobacco for each hogshead so received, for the cask, and two pounds of tobacco for every hundred pounds of tobacco contained in such notes; and so proportionably, for a greater or lesser quantity, for shrinkage and wasting, if the said tobacco be paid within two months after the date of the note given for the same; and one pound of tobacco for every hundred, for every month the same shall be unpaid, after the said allowance; so as such allowance for shrinkage and wasting, do not exceed in the whole six pounds of tobacco for every hundred. And if any inspector or inspectors, by whom any such notes for tobacco, as aforesaid, shall be signed, shall refuse | 4 per cent. for cask not exceeding
30lbs. of tobacco per hogshead. Transfer tobacco must contain 850 lbs. nett tobacco, at least, when paid by the inspectors. 5s. 6d. per hogshead, for Inspection, &c. Shrinkage or loss of weight. Inspectors failing to pay their notes. |
| or delay to pay and satisfy the same, when demanded, every inspector so refusing or delaying, shall forfeit and pay to the party injured, double the value of the tobacco so refused or delayed to be paid: To be recovered, with costs, in any court of record within this dominion, if the note or notes so refused or delayed to be paid, exceed two hundred pounds of tobacco; and if the said note or notes do not exceed two hundred pounds of tobacco, the double value aforesaid, shall and may be recovered, before any justice of the peace of the county wherein the warehouse shall be, at which the note or notes ought to be paid. | forfeit double the quantity of tobacco. |
| XVI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all tobacco brought to any of the said warehouses, in hogsheads, casks, or cases, to be exported, on account, and for the use of the owner thereof, after the same shall have been viewed, examined, and weighed, and found to be good, shall be stamped, as herein before directed: And the said inspectors, or one of them, shall deliver to the person bringing the same, as many receipts, signed as aforesaid, as shall be required, for the number of hogsheads so brought and stamped. And for every hogshead, cask, and case, brought to any of the said warehouses, to be exported, on account, and for the use of the owners thereof, there shall be paid to the inspectors there attending, three shillings for viewing, examining, and stamping the same; and the owners of the said tobacco shall find and provide nails for the nailing thereof. | Crop notes. 3s. per hogshead for inspection, besides nails. |
| XVIII. And be it further enacted, That during the continuance of this act, no tender of any debt or duty, paiable in tobacco, shall be accounted lawful, unless paiment of the same be tendered in inspectors notes or receipts. And for restraining the undue practice of mixing trash with stemmed tobacco, and preventing the packing tobacco in unsizeable casks. | No tender of tobacco debts, except made in inspector's notes. |
| XIX. Be it enacted and declared, That all stemmed tobacco, not laid straight, whether the same be packed loose, or in bundles: And all tobacco packed in hogsheads, which exceed eight and forty inches in the length of the stave, or thirty inches at the head within the crow, making reasonable allowance for prizing; which allowance shall not exceed two inches above the gage in the prizing head, shall be accounted unlawful tobacco, and shall not be passed or received: But the | Stemmed tobacco. Dimensions of cask. |
| owner of such tobacco, packed in casks of greater dimensions, than before expressed, shall be obliged to rspack the same in sizeable cask, at his own cost and charge, before the same shall be stamped by the inspectors. | |
| XX. And be it further enacted, That if any person whatsoever, shall forge or counterfeit the stamp, note, or receipt of any inspector, or tender in paiment any such forged, or counterfeited note or receipt, knowing it to be such; or export, or cause to be exported, any hogshead, cask, case, chest, box, or other package of tobacco, stamped with a forged or counterfeit stamp; or demand tobacco of any inspector upon any such forged or counterfeit note or receipt, knowing such note or receipt, or such stamp to be forged or counterfeited; or shall put or pack into any hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, stamped by any inspector, any tobacco whatsoever; or shall draw or take out any stave, plank, or heading board of any hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, after such hogshead, cask, or case of tobacco, shall be delivered out from any of the public warehouses aforesaid; every person so offending, and being thereof convicted, by due course of law, shall be adjudged a felon, and shall suffer, as in case of felony. | Forging inspectors notes, or stamp; or breaking, or altering inspected tobacco, felony. |
| XXI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any inspectors notes or receipts be casually lost, mislaid, or destroyed, the person or persons entitled to receive the tobacco, by virtue of any such note or receipt, shall make oath before a justice of the peace of the county where the same is paiable, to the number or date of every such note or receipt, to whom and where paiable, and for what quantity of tobacco the same was given, and that such note or receipt is lost, mislaid, or destroyed: And that he, she, or they, at the time such note or receipt was lost, mislaid, or destroyed, was lawfully entitled to receive the tobacco therein mentioned, and shall take a certificate thereof from such justice; and upon producing a certificate of such oath, to the inspectors who signed such note or receipt, and lodging the same with them, the said inspectors shall, and are hereby directed, to pay and deliver to the person obtaining such certificate, the tobacco for which any such notes or receipts were given, (if the same, or any part thereof, shall not have been before them paid, by virtue of the said notes or receipts;) | Notes lost or mislaid. |
| and shall be thereby discharged from all actions, suits and demands, on account of such notes or receipts. And if any person shall be convicted of making a false oath, or producing a forged certificate, in the case aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay twenty shillings for every hundred pounds weight of tobacco contained in such certificate; and moreover, upon conviction in any court of record, shall suffer, as in case of wilful and corrupt perjury. | |
| XXII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all tobacco due, or to grow due and paiable, for public, county, or parish levies, or for quit-rents, or for secretarys, clerks, sheriffs, surveiors, or other officers fees, shall be paid and discharged, in the following manner; that is to say, all levies and quit-rents, shall be paid in some warehouse in the county where such levies are laid, or lands changeable with such quit-rents, lie; and all officers fees, in the county where the person chargeable therewith, lives; except such person shall have a plantation seated, with slaves thereon, in the county where the service is performed; and then, all fees, except secretary's fees) shall be paid in such county: But the said levies, quit-rents, and fees, due and paiable in any county where no public warehouse is established, shall be paid by inspectors notes, at some warehouse in the next adjacent county. | Paiment of public debts. |
| XXIII. Provided always, That no transfer notes of the preceeding year, shall pass in any such paiment; nor no notes of the county of Prince William, shall pass in any paiment of levies, quit-rents, or fees, becoming due in the county of Orange. And the notes of the warehouses, herein after mentioned, shall pass in paiment of all quit-rents, levies, and officers fees, paiable in the counties following; that is to say, the notes of Kemp's warehouse, shall pass in the county of Glocester, Of Lawrence's, Gray's creek, and Cabbin Point, in the county of Isle of Wight. Of Lawrence's, and all the warehouses above, on the south side of James River in the county of Brunswick. Of Wainwright's Appamattox, Maycock's, Jourdan's, and Warwicksqueak Bay, in the county of Surry. Of Warwick, Bermuda Hundred, John Bolling's, and Cabbin Point, in the county of Prince George. Of Turkey Island, and Hog Neck, in the county of Charles City. Of any warehouse in the county of New Kent, in Saint Peter's | Currency of inspector's notes. |
| parish, in the county of James City. Of York, Roe's, and Hampton, in the county of Warwick. Of Roe's in the county of Elizabeth City. Of Page's, and Meriwether's, in the county of King William. Of Todd's, Aylett's and Layton's, in the county of Caroline. Of Conway's, in the county of Spotsylvania. Of Fredericksburg, in the county of Louisa. Of Indian Creek, in the county of Lancaster. Of Yeocomico, in the county of Northumberland. Of Mattox, and Falmouth, in the county of Stafford. Of Princess Ann, and Norfolk, in either county. Of any warehouse in Accomack, or Northampton, in either county. | |
| XXIV. And be it further enacted, That out of every hundred pounds of tobacco paid, in discharge of quit-rents, secretary's, clerks, sherifs, surveiors, and other officers fees, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser quantity, there shall be made the following abatements or allowances to the payer; that is to say, for tobacco due in the counties of Goochland, Brunswick, Orange, Amelia, and the county of Louisa, the person paying shall and may retain in his own hands, thirty pounds of tobacco, for every hundred so due from him. For tobacco due in the county of Princess Anne, twenty pounds of tobacco. For tobacco due in the counties of Henrico, Caroline, Nansemond, Norfolk, Hanover, and Spotsylvania, fourteen pounds of tobacco. For tobacco due in the counties of Prince George, Surry, Isle of Wight, Fairfax, and Prince William, twenty pounds of tobacco. For tobacco due in any other county, ten pounds of tobacco. | Allowances for conveniency |
| XXV. Provided always, That where any person chargeable with any officers fees, (except Secretary's fees,) lives in another county, than where the service is performed, or the fees become due, the same allowance shall be made to every such person, as is by law settled to be allowed, in that county where the service is performed, or the fees become due. | Proviso as to non-residents. |
| XXVI. And for preventing all mistakes and controversies concerning the allowances to be made, upon the paiment of public, county, and parish levies, Be it enacted, That the levies aforesaid, shall be all laid in nett tobacco, and the abatement which ought to be made out of every creditor's claim for convenience, shall be deducted out of such claim, at the time of | Allowances on payment of levies and taxes. |
| laying the said levies: Which abatements are hereby settled, and declared to be the same, as are before mentioned and directed to be allowed, upon the paiment of quit-rents and officers fees. But where any creditor, by law or contract, ought to be paid with convenience, in that case, no abatement shall be made to the people, by the collectors thereof. And where any tobacco ought to be paid with cask, there shall be levied four pre cent. for cask, and no more: And there shall be also levied, in all the said levies, six per cent. for collecting the same, and no more: Which shall be paid and allowed to the respective collectors of the said levies. And for all tobacco paid and discharged in inspectors notes for quit-rents, secretary's, clerks, sherifs, surveiors, and other officers fees, to the persons entitled to receive the same, there shall be paid and allowed by such persons, to the sheriff, or collector, six pounds of tobacco, for every one hundred pounds of tobacco so paid, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser quantity. And the said sheriff, or other collector, is hereby impowered to retain the same in his hands. And the sheriff, and other collectors of the levies, quit-rents, and fees aforesaid, shall pay and discharge the same, by the same notes which they shall receive, in paiment thereof. | Commission for collecting. |
| XXVII. And be it further enacted, That during the continuance of this act, the clerk of the general court and of every county court, in taxing the costs of any judgment or decree obtained, or to be obtained, shall deduct, out of the said costs, the same allowance for convenience, as shall or ought to be made and allowed to the party first charged with the fees so taxed in the bill of costs, by the respective officers; and execution shall issue for no more than the said costs amount to, after the said deduction. | Allowances in taxing costs. |
| XXVIII. And be it further enacted, That all public, county, and parish levies, quit-rents, secretary's, sherifs, clerks, surveiors, and other officers fees, paiable in tobacco, shall be paid and satisfied by the persons chargeable with, and indebted for the same, to the sherifs, or other collectors, by inspectors notes, before the tenth day of April, yearly. And if any persons chargeable with the levies, quit-rents, and fees aforesaid, shall neglect or refuse to pay the same, within the time aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful, to and for the | Public tobacco debts, when payable. |
| sherifs, or other collectors, immediately after the said tenth day of April, to distrain the goods and chattels of the person or persons so neglecting and refusing, and to sell and dispose thereof, for tobacco, in the same manner as is directed by law, for goods taken in execution; and the overplus (if any be) after paying the said levies, quit-rents, and fees, and the charge of distress, which is hereby declared to be the same as for serving an execution, shall be returned to the debtor. | Distress for. |
| XXIX. Provided always, That where any goods or chattels shall be distrained for non-paiment of quit-rents, the same shall not be redeemed, but by the paiment of sterling money, or bills of exchange, for so much as the said quit-rents amount to: And if not redeemed, the sheriff shall sell the same for sterling money, or bills of exchange, accordingly. | Distress for quit-rents how redeemable. |
| XXX. And the sherifs, or other collectors of the said levies and fees, shall before the last day of April, yearly, pay and deliver to each creditor, according to their respective debts or claims, all the inspectors notes he or they have received, in satisfaction thereof. And if any sheriff, or other collector, shall refuse or delay to make paiment accordingly, if required, he or they so refusing or delaying, shall forfeit and pay the party grieved, double the value of the tobacco, so refused or delaied to be paid: To be recovered, with costs in any court of record within this dominion, if the debt due exceeds two hundred pounds of tobacco; and before any justice of the peace, if the debt be two hundred pounds of tobacco, or under. | Sheriffs and collectors when to account. |
| XXXI. And be it further enacted, That when any tobacco shall be brought to any of the public warehouses, and refused by the inspectors there officiating, the same shall be immediately burnt by them, unless the owner or person bringing such tobacco, desires to sort and separate the same, and to pick out such as is bad; in which case the inspectors shall permit the same to be done at the warehouse, to which the said tobacco shall be brought, without fee or reward: But shall not, on any pretence, suffer the said tobacco to be removed or carried from the said warehouse. And the said inspectors shall allow one month for separating and picking such tobacco; after which time, if the same be not done, it shall be lawful for them to burn the whole, except where the tobacco is in a sweat, or where | Refused tobacco to be burnt or picked. |
| the circumstances or accidents of weather may have prevented the handling of it; in which case the inspectors shall allow such further time as they shall think reasonable. And where any tobacco shall be separated and picked, as aforesaid, the trash and bad tobacco shall be bunt by the inspectors, on the same day it is picked out, under the penalty of forfeiting five shillings for every failure, to the informer. | |
| XXXII. And if any tobacco packed in cask by an overseer, or the hands under his care, shall be burnt by the said inspectors, by reason of it's being bad, unsound, or not in a good condition, the overseer who had the care of making and packing the same, shall bear the loss of the tobacco so burnt, and make satisfaction for the same, out of his share of the crop or otherwise. And the inspectors shall be obliged to keep an account of all tobacco so burnt. And to the intent the just quantity of tobacco exported, may be more exactly known, and all evil practices to defraud his majesty of his customs prevented: | Liability of overseers. |
| XXXIII. Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all inspectors shall carefully enter in a book to be, provided and kept for that purpose, the marks, numbers, gross, nett weight, and tare of all tobacco viewed and stamped by them, as aforesaid, and in what ships or vessels the same shall be laden, or put on board: And shall also, with every sloop-load or boat-load of tobacco, send a list of the marks, numbers, gross, nett weight, and tare of every hogshead of tobacco then delivered, to be given to the master of the ship or vessel in which the same shall be put on board. And if the tobacco delivered to the same sloop or boat, is intended to be put on board several ships or vessels; then they shall deliver so many distinct and several lists, as aforesaid, of the hogsheads to be put on board such ship or vessel, respectively: Which lists, every master of a ship or vessel is required to produce to, and lodge with, the naval officer of the district where the ship or vessel, whereof he is master, shall ride, or by whom he shall be cleared, some time before here clearance. But whereas it may happen, that the ship in which such tobacco was intended to be put, may be so full, as not to be able to stow all the tobacco contained in such list; in such case, it shall and may be lawful to ship the said tobacco, or any part thereof, on | Weights of all tobacco to be entered in a book. Manifest. Proviso where the ship cannot receive the tobacco. |
| board any other ship or ships, where the owner thereof shall think fit, the masters of such ships indorsing on the said lists, the marks and numbers of the respective hogsheads by them taken on board, and giving notice to the inspectors of the warehouse from whence the same was brought: Or if there be no ship to receive the said tobacco, then it shall and may be lawful for the master of the first mentioned ship or vessel to put the said tobacco into the nearest warehouse to the place where such ship shall ride, giving immediate notice thereof to the inspectors who stamped the same. And the inspectors of that warehouse where such tobacco shall be delivered, shall give a receipt for the same, and shall cause the said tobacco to be safely lodged, and delivered to the order of the owner thereof, whenever he or she shall think fit to ship it off; and that without fee or reward. | |
| XXXIV. And be it further enacted, That every master of a ship or vessel wherein tobacco shall be laden, shall, at the time of clearing, deliver to the naval officer, two fair manifests of all the tobacco on board his ship or vessel, expressing the marks and numbers of every hogshead, and the tare and nett weight stamped thereon, the person by whom shipped, and from what warehouse, and shall make oath thereto; and that the same is a just and true account of the marks, numbers, tare and nett weight, of each respective hogshead, as the same was taken down by the person or persons appointed by him to take the same, before the said tobacco was stowed away. And no ship or vessel shall be cleared by the naval officer, before he shall have received such lists and manifests; one of which said manifests shall, by the said naval officer, be annexed to such master's certificate or clearance, to the end the same may be delivered to the chief office of the customs, in such port or place where the said ship shall unlade, and the other of the said manifests shall, by the said naval officer, be transmitted to the said chief officer of the customs, by the next convenient opportunity. | Duty of masters of vessels and naval officers, in relation to manifests. |
| Pages 107-123
| Pages 141-160
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