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For every pound weight avoirdupois of such foreign indigo,
six pence.
For every hundred weight avoirdupois of such foreign
coffee, which shall be imported from any place, except Great Britain, two
pounds, nineteen shillings, and nine pence.
For every ton of wine or the growth of the Madeiras, or of
any other island or place from whence such wine may be lawfully imported, and
which shall be so imported from such islands or places, the sum of seven
pounds.
For every ton of Portugal, Spanish, or any other wine
(except French wine) imported from Great Britain, the sum of ten shillings.
For every pound weight avoirdupois of wrought silks,
bengals, and stuffs, mixed with silk or herba, of the manufacture of Persia,
China, or East India, imported from Great Britain, two shillings.
For every piece of callico painted, dyed, printed, or
stained, in Persia, China, or East India, imported from Great Britain, two
shillings and six pence.
For every piece of foreign linen cloth, called Cambrick,
imported from Great Britain, three shillings.
For every piece of French lawn imported from Great
Britain, three shillings.
And after those rates for any greater or lesser quantity
of such goods respectively.
II. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the said twenty ninth day of September, one
thousand seven hundred and sixty four, there shall also be raised, levied,
collected, and paid, unto his Majesty, his heirs and successors, for and upon
all coffee and pimento of the growth and produce or any British colony or
plantation in America, which shall be there laden on board any British ship or
vessel, to be carried out from thence to any other place whatsoever, except
Great Britain, the several rates and duties following; that is to say, III.
For every hundred weight avoirdupois of such British
coffee, seven shillings.
For every pound weight avoirdupois of such British
pimento, one halfpenny. And after those rates for any greater or lesser
quantity or such goods respectively.
IV. And whereas an act was made in the sixth year of the
reign of his late majesty King George the Second, intituled, An act for the
better securing and encouraging the trade of his Majesty's sugar colonies in
America, which was to continue in force for five years, to be computed from the
twenty fourth day of June, one thousand seven hundred and thirty three, and to
the end of the then next session of parliament, and which by several subsequent
acts made in the eleventh, the nineteenth, the twenty sixth, and twenty ninth,
and the thirty first years of the reign of his said late Majesty, was, from
time to time, continued; and, by an act made in the first year of the reign of
his present Majesty, was further continued until the end of this present
session of parliament; and although the said act hath been found in some degree
useful, yet it is highly expedient that the same should be altered, enforced,
and made more effectual; but, in consideration of the great distance of several
of the said colonies and plantations from this kingdom, it will be proper
further to continue the said act for a short space, before any alterations and
amendments shall take effect, in order that all persons concerned may have due
and proper notice thereof; be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid,
That the said act made in the sixth year of the reign of his late majesty King
George the Second intituled, An act for the better securing and encouraging the
trade of his Majesty's sugar colonies in America, shall be, and the same is
hereby further continued, until the thirtieth day of September, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty four.
V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
That from the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and
sixty four, the said act, subject to such alterations and amendments as are
herein after contained, shall be, and the same is hereby made perpetual.
VI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
That in lieu and instead of the rate and duty imposed by the said act upon
melasses and syrups, there shall, from and after the said twenty ninth day of
September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, be raised, levied,
collected, and paid, unto his Majesty, his heirs and successors, for and upon
every gallon of melasses or syrups, being the growth, product, or manufacture,
of any colony or plantation in America, not under the dominion of his Majesty,
his heirs or successors, which shall be imported or brought into any colony or
plantation in America, which now is, or hereafter may be, under the dominion of
his Majesty, his heirs or successors, the sum of three pence.
VII. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That the said rates and duties hereby charged upon such foreign
white or clayed sugars, foreign indigo, foreign coffee, wines, wrought silks,
bengals, and stuffs, mixed with silk or herba, callico, cambricks, French
lawns, and foreign melasses or syrups, imported into any British American
colony or plantation, shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid, in the same
manner and form, and by such rules, ways, and means, and under such penalties
and forfeitures [not otherwise altered by this act) as are mentioned and
expressed in the said act of parliament, made in the sixth year of the reign of
his late majesty King George the Second, with respect to the raising, levying,
collecting, and payment, of the rates and duties thereby granted; and, that the
aforesaid duties hereby charged upon British coffee and pimento, exported from
any British colony or plantation, shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid,
in the same manner and form, and by such rules, ways, and means, and under such
penalties and forfeitures, as are mentioned and referred unto in an act of
parliament, made in the twenty sixth year of the reign of King Charles the
Second, intituled, An act for the encouragement of the Greenland and Eastland
trades, and for the better securing the plantation trade, with respect to the
raising, levying, collecting, and payment of the rates and duties thereby
granted upon the several goods therein particularly enumerated: and that all
powers, penalties, provisions, articles, and clauses, in those acts
respectively contained and referred unto (except in such cases where any
alteration is made by this act) shall be observed, applied; practiced, and put
in execution, for the raising, levying, collecting, and answering, the
respective rates and duties granted by this act, as fully and efectually, as if
the same were particularly and at large re-enacted in the body of this present
act, and applied to the rates and duties hereby imposed; and as fully and
effectually, to all intents and purposes, as the same could have been at any
time put in execution, for the like purposes, with respect to the rates and
duties granted by the said former acts.
VIII. Provided always, and it is hereby further enacted by
the authority aforesaid, That if the importer of any wines shall refuse to pay
the duties hereby imposed thereon, it shall and may be lawful for the
collector, or other proper officer of the customs where such wines shall be
imported, and he is hereby respectively required to take and secure the same,
with the casks, or other package thereof, and to cause the same to be publickly
sold, within the space of twenty days at the most after such refusal made, and
at such time and place as such officer, shall, by four or more days publick
notice, appoint for that purpose; which wine shall be sold to the best bidder,
and the money arising by the sale thereof shall be applied, in the first place,
in payment of the said duties, together with the charges that shall have been
occasioned by the said sale; and the overplus, if any shall be paid to such
importer, or any other person authorized to receive the same.
IX. Provided also, That if the money offered for the
purchase of such wine, shall not be sufficient to discharge the duty and
charges aforesaid, then, and in every such case, the collector, or other proper
officer, shall cause the wine to be staved, spilt or otherwise destroyed, and
shall return the casks or other package wherein the same was contained to such
importer.
X. And it is hereby declared and enacted, That every piece
of callico intended to be charged with the duty herein before-mentioned, if of
the breadth of one yard and a quarter or under, shall not exceed in length ten
yards; and if above that breadth, shall not exceed six yards in length; and
that every piece of cambrick and French lawn shall contain thirteen ells each,
and shall pay duty for the same in those proportions for any greater or lesser
quantity, according to the sum herein before charged upon each piece of such
goods respectively.
XI. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That all the monies which, from and after the twenty ninth day of
September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, shall arise by the
several rates and duties herein before granted; and also by the duties which,
from and after the said twenty ninth day of September, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty four, shall be raised upon sugars and paneles, by virtue of
the said act made in the sixth year of the reign of his said late majesty King
George the Second (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting,
levying, recovering answering, paying, and accounting for the same) shall be
paid into the receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer, and shall be entered separate
and apart from all other monies paid or payable to his Majesty, his heirs or
successors: and shall be there reserved, to be, from time to time, disposed of
by parliament, towards defraying the necessary expences of defending,
protecting, and securing, the British colonies and plantations in America.
XII. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the tenth day of September, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty four, upon the exportation of any sort of wine (except French
wines) from this kingdom to any British colony or plantation in America, as
merchandize, the exporter shall be paid, in lieu of all former drawbacks, a
drawback or allowance of all the duties paid upon the importation of such wine,
except the sum of three pounds ten shillings per ton, part of the additional
duty of four pounds per ton, granted by an act made in the last session of
parliament (intituled, An act for granting to his Majesty several additional
duties upon wines imported into this kingdom, and certain duties upon all cyder
and perry, and for raising the sum of three millions five hundred thousand
pounds, by way of annuities and lotteries, to be charged on the said duties)
and also except such part of the duties paid upon wines imported by strangers
or aliens, or in foreign ships, as exceeds what would have been payable upon
such wines, if the same had been imported by British subjects and in British
ships; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding; which
drawback or allowance shall be made in such manner, and under such rules and
regulations, penalties, and forfeitures, in all respects, as any former
drawback or allowance, payable out of the duties of customs upon the
exportation of such wine, was, could, or might be made, before the passing of
this act.
XIII. Provided always, and it is hereby further enacted,
That upon the entry of any such wine for exportation to any British colony or
plantation in America, and before any debenture shall, be made out for allowing
the drawback thereon, the exporter shall give bond, with sufficient security,
to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, to be approved of by the collector,
or other principal officer of the customs at the port of exportation, in treble
the amount of the drawback payable for the goods, that the same, and every part
thereof, shall (the dangers of the seas and enemies excepted) be really and
truly exported to, and landed in, some British colony or plantation in America,
and that the same shall not be exported, or carried to any other place or
country whatsoever, nor relanded in any part of Great Britain, Ireland, or the
islands of Guerney, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, or either of them: and such
bonds shall not be delivered up nor discharged, until a certificate shall be
produced, under the hands and seals of the collector or other principal officer
of the customs at the port or place where such goods shall be landed,
testifying the landing thereof: and the condition of such bond shall be, to
produce such certificate in eighteen months from the date of the bonds (the
dangers of the seas and enemies excepted.) And it is hereby further enacted by
the authority aforesaid, That from and after the first day of May, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty four, no part of the rate or duty; commonly called The
old subsidy, shall be repaid or drawn back for any foreign goods of the growth,
production, or manufacture, of Europe, or the East Indies, which shall be
exported from this kingdom to any British colony or plantation in America
(wines, white callicoes, and muslins, only excepted;) any law, custom, or
usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.
XIV. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the tenth day of September, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty four, upon the exportation of any sort of white callicoes or
muslins, except as herein after is mentioned, from this kingdom to any British
colony or plantation in America, besides the one half of the rate or duty
commonly called The old subsidy which now remains, and is not drawn back for
the same, there also shall not be repaid or drawn back the further sum of four
pounds fifteen shillings for every hundred pounds of the true and real value of
such goods, according to the gross price at which they were sold at the sale of
the united company of merchants trading to the East Indies, being the third
part of the net duties granted thereon respectively by two several acts of
parliament, the one made in the eleventh and twelfth year of the reign of King
William the Third, intituled, An act for laying further duties upon wrought
silks, muslins, and some other commodities of the East Indies, and for
enlarging the time for purchasing certain reversionary annuities therein
mentioned; and the other made in the third and fourth year of the reign of
Queen Anne, intituled, An act for continuing duties upon low wines, and upon
coffee, tea, chocolate, spices, and pictures and upon hawkers, pedlars, and
petty chapmen, and upon muslins; and for granting new duties upon several of
the said commodities, and also upon callicoes, China-ware, and drugs; any law,
custom, or usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
XV. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the
authority aforesaid, That until the first day of March, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty five, upon the exportation from this kingdom, to any British
colony or plantation in America, of such white callicoes or muslins only as
were sold on or before the twenty fifth day of March, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty four, at the sale of the united company of merchants trading
to the East Indies, such and the same drawbacks shall be allowed as are now
payable upon the exportation of the said goods.
XVI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid
That if any merchant or other person shall, from and after the said first day
of May, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, enter any goods for
exportation to parts beyond the seas, other than to the said British colonies
or plantations in America, in order to obtain any drawback not allowed by this
act upon the exportation of such goods to the said British colonies or
plantations, and the said goods shall nevertheless be carried to any British
colony or plantation in America, and landed there, contrary to the true intent
and meaning hereof, that then, and in such case, the drawback shall be
forfeited, and the exporter of such goods, and the master of the ship or vessel
on board which the same were loaden and exported, shall forfeit double the
amount of the drawback paid or to be paid for the same, and also treble the
value of the said goods.
XVII. And it is further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the said first day of May, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty four, if any goods, not allowed to draw back any part of the
old subsidy, or any other duty by this act, shall be entered for exportation
from this kingdom to any other place beyond the seas, except to some British
colony or plantation in America, in every case where the exporter is required,
by any law now in force, to swear that such goods are not landed or intended to
be landed in Great Britain, Ireland, or the isle of Man, there shall also be
added to, and included in, the oath upon the debenture for such goods, ''any
British colonies or plantations in America.''
XVIII. And be it further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty four, no rum or spirits of the produce or manufacture
of any of the colonies or plantations in America, not in the possession or
under the dominion of his Majesty; his heirs or successors, shall be imported
or brought into any of the colonies or plantations in America which now are, or
hereafter may be in the possession or under the dominion of his Majesty, his
heirs or successors, upon forfeiture of all such rum or spirits, together with
the ship or vessel in which the same shall be imported, with the tackle,
apparel, and furniture thereof; to be seized by any officer or officers of his
Majesty's customs, and prosecuted in such manner and form as herein after is
expressed; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.
XIX. And it is hereby further enacted and declared by the
authority aforesaid, That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one
thousand seven hundred and sixty four, nothing in the before-recited act made
in the sixth year of the reign of his late majesty King George the Second, or
any other act of parliament, shall extend, or be construed to extend, to give
liberty to any person or persons whatsoever to import into the kingdom of
Ireland, any sort of sugars, but such only as shall be fairly and bona fide
loaden and shipped in Great Britain, and carried directly from thence in ships
navigated according to law.
XX. And, for the better preventing frauds in the
importation of foreign sugars and paneles, rum and spirits, molasses and
syrups, into any of his Majesty's dominions, under pretence that the same are
the growth, produce or manufacture, of the British colonies or plantations, it
is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the twenty
ninth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, every person
or persons loading on board any ship or vessel, in any of the British colonies
or plantations in America, any rum or spirits, sugars or paneles, molasses or
syrups, as of the growth, product, or manufacture, of any British colony or
plantation, shall, before the clearing out of the said ship or vessel, produce
and deliver to the collector or other principal officer of the customs at the
loading port, an affidavit signed and sworn to before some justice of the peace
in the said British colonies or plantations, either by the grower, maker, or
shipper of such goods, or his or their known agent or factor, expressing, in
words at length and not in figures, the quality of the goods so shipped, with
the number and denomination of the packages, and describing the name or names
of the plantation or plantations, and the name of the colony where the same
grew or were produced and manufactured; which affidavit shall be attested,
under the hand of the said justice of the peace, to have been sworn to in his
presence; who is hereby required to do the same without fee or reward: and the
collector or other principal officer of the customs to whom such affidavit
shall be delivered, shall thereupon grant to the master, or other person having
the charge of the ship or vessel, a certificate under his hand an seal of
office (without fee or reward) of his having received such affidavit pursuant
to the directions of this act; which certificate shall express the quality of
the goods shipped on board such ship or vessel, with the number and
denomination of the packages: and such collector or other principal officer of
the customs shall also (without fee or reward) within thirty days after the
sailing of the ship or vessel, transmit an exact copy of the said affidavit to
the secretary's office for the respective colony or plantation where the goods
were shipped, on forfeiture of five pounds.
XXI. And it is further enacted, That upon the arrival of
such ship or vessel into the port of her discharge, either in Great Britain or
any other port of his Majesty's dominions, where such goods may be lawfully
imported, the master or other person taking the charge of the ship or vessel
shall, at the time he makes his report of his cargo, deliver the said
certificate to the collector or other principal officer of the customs, and
make oath before him that the goods so reported are the same that are mentioned
in the said certificate, on forfeiture of one hundred pounds; and if any rum or
spirits, sugars or paneles, molasses or syrups, shall be imported or found on
board any such ship or vessel, for which no such certificate shall be produced,
or which shall not agree therewith, the same shall be deemed and taken to be
foreign rum and spirits, sugar and paneles, molasses and syrups, and shall be
liable to the same duties, restrictions, regulations, penalties, and
forfeitures, in all respects, as rum, spirits, sugar, paneles, molasses, and
syrups, of the growth, produce, or manufacture, of any foreign colony or
plantation, would respectively be liable to by law.
XXII. Provided always, That if any rum or spirits, sugar
or paneles, molasses or syrups, shall be imported into Great Britain from any
British colony or plantation in America, without being included in such
certificate as is herein before directed, and it shall be made to appear, to
the satisfaction of the commissioners of his Majesty's customs at London or
Edinburgh respectively, that the goods are really and truly the produce of such
British plantation or colony, and that no fraud was intended, it shall and may
in such case be lawful for the said respective commissioners to perm it the
said goods to be entered, upon payment of the like duties as such goods would
be liable to if this law had not been made.
XXIII. And whereas by an act of parliament made in the
twelfth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An act for
encouraging and increasing of shipping and navigation, and several subsequent
acts of parliament which are now in force, it is, amongst other things,
directed, that for every ship or vessel that shall load any commodities, in
those acts particularly enumerated, at any British plantation, being the
growth, product, or manufacture thereof, bonds shall be given with one surety,
to the value of one thousand pounds, if the ship be of less burthen than one
hundred tons, and of the sum of two thousand pounds; if the ship be of greater
burthen, that the same commodities shall be brought by such ship or vessel to
some other British plantation, or to some port in Great Britain;
notwithstanding which, there is great reason to apprehend such goods are
frequently carried to foreign parts, and landed there: and whereas great
quantities of foreign molasses and syrups are clandestinely run on shore in the
British colonies, to the prejudice of the revenue, and the great detriment of
the trade of this kingdom, and it's American plantations: to remedy which
practices for the future, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty four, bond and security, in the like penalty, shall also be
given to the collector or other principal officer of the customs at any port or
place in any of the British American colonies or plantations, with one surety
besides the matter of every ship or vessel that shall lade or take on board
there any goods not particularly enumerated in the said acts, being the product
or manufacture of any of the said colonies or plantations, with condition,
that, in case any molasses or syrups, being the produce of any of the
plantations, not under the dominion of his Majesty, his heirs or successors,
shall be laden on board such ship or vessel, the same shall (the danger of the
seas and enemies excepted) be brought, without fraud or wilful diminution, by
the said ship or vessel to some of his Majesty's colonies or plantations in
America, or to some port in Great Britain; and that the master or other person
having the charge of such ship or vessel, shall, immediately upon his arrival
at every port or place in Great Britain, or in the British American colonies
and plantations, make a just and true report of all the goods laden on board
such ship or vessel under their true and proper denominations; and if any such
non-enumerated goods shall be laden on board any such ship or vessel before
such bond shall be given, the goods so laden together with the ship or vessel
and her furniture shall be forfeited, and shall and may be seized by any
officer of the customs, and prosecuted in the manner herein after directed.
XXIV. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That every master or person having the charge of any ship or vessel
shall, before he departs from any British colony or plantation where he
receives his lading, take a certificate under the hands and seals of the
collector or other principal officer of the customs there (which certificate
such officers are hereby required to grant without fee or reward) that bond
hath been given, pursuant to the directions of this or any other act of
parliament, as the case shall require; and the master or person having the
charge of such ship or vessel, shall keep such certificate in his custody till
the voyage is compleated, and shall then deliver the same up to the collector
or other chief officer of the customs at the port or place where he shall
discharge his lading, either in Great Britain or any British American colony or
plantation, on forfeiture of one hundred pounds for each and every offence.
XXV. And it is hereby further enacted, That if any British
ship or vessel laden, as aforesaid, with any goods of the produce or
manufacture of any British colony or plantation in America, or having on board
any molasses or syrups the produce of any foreign colony or plantation, shall
be discovered by any officer of his Majesty's customs within two leagues of the
shore of any British colony or plantation in America, and the master or person
taking charge of such ship or vessel shall not produce a certificate that bond
has been given; pursuant to the directions of this or any other act of
parliament, as the case may require; or if he shall not produce such
certificate to the collector or other chief officer of the customs where he
shall arive, either in Great Britain or any British American colony or
plantation, such ship or vessel, with her tackle, apparel, and furniture, and
all the goods therein laden, shall be forfeited, and shall and may be seized
and prosecuted as herein after is directed.
XXVI. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That the said bond directed to be given by this act, with respect to
such non-enumerated goods, shall continue in force for one year from and after
the completion of the voyage; and in case no fraud shall appear within that
time, it shall be lawful for the commissioners of his Majesty's customs, or any
four or more of them, to direct the said bond to be delivered up.
XXVII. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty four, all coffee, pimento, cocoa nuts, whale fins, raw
silk, hides, and skins, pot and pearl ashes, of the growth, production, or
manufacture, of any British colony or plantation in America, shall be imported
directly from thence into this kingdom, or some other British colony or
plantation, under the like securities, penalties, and forfeitures, as are
particularly mentioned in tow acts of parliament made in the twelfth and twenty
fifth years of the reign of King Charles the Second, the former intituled, An
act for the encouraging and increasing of shipping and navigation, and the
latter intituled, An act for the encouragement of the Greenland and eastland
trades, and for the better securing the plantation trade, or either of them,
with respect to the goods in those acts particularly enumerated; any law,
custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.
XVIII. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty four, no iron, nor any sort of wood, commonly called
Lumber, as specified in an act passed in the eighth year of the reign of King
George the First, intituled, An act for giving further encouragement for the
importation of naval stores, and for other purposes therein mentioned, of the
growth, production, or manufacture, of any British colony or plantation in
America, shall be there loaden on board any ship or vessel to be carried from
thence, until sufficient bond shall be given, with one surety besides the
master of the vessel, to the collector or other principal officer of the
customs at the loading port, in a penalty of double the value of the goods,
with condition, that the said goods shall not be landed in any part of Europe
except Great Britain; which bonds shall be discharged in the manner hereafter
mentioned; that is to say, for such of the said goods as shall be entered for,
or landed in, Great Britain, the condition of the bonds shall be, to bring a
certificate in discharge thereof within eighteen months from the date of the
bond; and within six months for such of the said goods as shall be entered for,
or landed in, any of the British colonies or plantations in America; which
respective certificates shall be under the hands and seals of the collector or
other principal officer of the customs resident at the port or place where such
goods shall be landed, testifying the landing thereof; and for such of the said
goods as shall be entered for, or landed at, any other place in America,
Africa, or Asia, to bring the like certificate within twelve months, under the
common seal of the chief magistrate, or under the hands and seals of two known
British merchants residing there; or such bond or bonds shall be discharged, in
either of the said cases, by proof upon oath made by credible persons, that the
said goods were taken by enemies, or perished in the seas.
XXIX. And, for the better preventing frauds in the
importation or exportation of goods that are liable to the payment of duties,
or are prohibited, in the British colonies or plantations in America, it is
further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the twenty
ninth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, no goods,
wares, or merchandizes, of any kind whatsoever, shall be shipped or laden on
board any ship or vessel in any of the British colonies or plantations in
America, to be carried from thence to any other British colony or plantation,
without a sufferance or warrant first had and obtained from the collector or
other proper officer of the customs at the port or place where such goods shall
be intended to be put on board; and the master of every such ship or vessel
shall, before the same be removed or carried out from the port or place where
he takes in his lading, take out a cock or cockets expressing the quantity and
quality of the goods, and marks of the package, so laden, with the merchants
names by whom whipped and to whom consigned; and if they are goods that are
liable to the payment of any duty, either upon the importation into, or upon
the exportation from, the said colonies or plantations, the said cocket or
cockets shall likewise distinctly specify that the duties have been paid for
the same, referring to the times or dates of entry and payment of such duties,
and by whom they were paid; which cocket or cockets shall be produced by the
master of such ship or vessel, to the collector or other principal officer of
the customs at the port or place where such ship or vessel shall arrive in any
of the British colonies or plantations in America, before any part of the goods
are unladen or put on shore: and if any goods or merchandizes shall be shipped
as aforesaid without such sufferance, or the vessel shall depart and proceed on
her voyage without such cocket or cockets, or the goods shall be landed or put
on shore before such cocket or cockets are produced at the port or place of
discharge, or if the goods do not agree in all respects therewith, the goods,
in any or either of those cases, shall be forfeited and lost; and any officer
of his Majesty's customs is hereby impowered to stop any such ship or vessel,
bound as aforesaid, which shall be discovered within two leagues of the shore
of any of the said British colonies or plantations in America, and to seize and
take from thence all the goods which shall be found on board such ship or
vessel for which no such cocket or cockets shall be produced to him.
XXX. And whereas British vessels arriving from foreign
parts at several of the out ports of this kingdom, fully or in part laden
abroad with goods that are pretended to be destined to some foreign plantation,
do frequently take on board some small parcels of goods in this kingdom which
are entred outwards for some British colony or plantation, and a cocket and
clearance thereupon granted for such goods, under cover of which the whole
cargoes of such vessels are clandestinely landed in the British American
dominions, contrary to several acts of parliament now in force, to the great
prejudice of the trade and revenue of this kingdom; for remedy whereof, be it
further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the first day
of May, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, no ship or vessel shall,
upon any pretence whatsoever, be cleared outwards from any port of this
kingdom, for any land, island, plantation, colony, territory, or place, to his
Majesty belonging, or which shall hereafter belong unto or be in the possession
or under the dominion of his Majesty, his heirs, or successors, in America,
unless the whole and entire cargo of such ship or vessel shall be bona fide,
and without fraud, laden and shipped in this kingdom; and any officer of his
Majesty's customs is hereby impowered to stop any British ship or vessel
arriving from any part of Europe, which shall be discovered within two leagues
of the shore of any of the said British colonies or plantations in America, and
to seize and take from thence, as forfeited, any goods (except as herein after
mentioned) for which the master or other person taking the charge of such ship
or vessel shall not produce a cocket or clearance from the collector or proper
officer of his Majesty's customs, certifying that the said goods were laden on
board the said ship or vessel in some port of Great Britain.
XXXI. Provided always, That this act shall not extend, nor
be construed to extend, to forfeit, for want of such cocket or clearance, any
salt laden in Europe for the fisheries in New England, Newfoundland,
Pensylvania, New York, and Nova Scotia, or any other place to which salt is or
shall be allowed by law to be carried; wines laden in the Madeiras, of the
growth thereof; and wines of the growth of the Western Islands or Azores, and
laden there; nor any horses, victuals, or linen cloth, of and from Ireland,
which may be laden on board such ships or vessels.
XXXII. And it is hereby further enacted, That if any
person or persons shall counterfeit, rase, alter, or falsify, any affidavit,
certificate, sufferance, cocket, or clearance, required or directed by this
act, or shall knowingly or willingly make use of any affidavit, certificate,
sufferance, cocket, or clearance, so counterfeited, rased, altered, or
falsified, such person or persons shall, for every such offence, forfeit the
sum of five hundred pounds; and such affidavit, certificate, sufferance,
cocket, or clearance shall be invalid and of no effect.
XXXIII. And whereas by an act of parliament made in the
ninth year of the reign of his late majesty King George the Second, intituled,
An act for indemnifying persons who have been guilty of offences against the
laws made for securing the revenue of customs and excise, and for enforcing
those laws for the future, and by other acts of parliament since made, which
are now in force; in order to prevent the clandestine landing of goods in this
kingdom from vessels which hover upon the coasts thereof, several goods and
vessels, in those laws particularly mentioned and described, are declared to be
forfeited, if such vessels are found at anchor, or hovering within two leagues
of the shore of this kingdom, without being compelled thereto by necessity or
distress of weather; which laws have been found very beneficial to the publick
revenue: and whereas, if some provision of that sort was extended to his
Majesty's American dominions, it, may be a means of preventing an illicit trade
therewith, and tend to enforce an act made in the twelfth year of the reign of
King Charles the Second, intituled, An act for the encouraging and increasing
of shipping and navigation, and another act made in the seventh and eighth
years of the reign of King William the Third, intituled, An act for preventing
frauds, and regulating abuses in the plantation trade, so far as those laws do
prohibit any goods or commodities to be imported into or exported out of any
British colony or plantation in America, in any foreign ship or vessel; to
which end therefore, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and
after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty
four, if any foreign ship or vessel whatsoever shall be found at anchor, or
hovering within two leagues of the shore of any land, island, plantation,
colony, territory, or place, which shall or may be in the possession or under
the dominion of his majesty, his heirs or successors, in America, and shall not
depart from the coast, and proceed upon her voyage to some foreign port or
place, within forty eight hours after the master or other person taking the
charge of such ship or vessel shall be required so to do by any officer of his
Majesty's customs, unless in case of unavoidable necessity and distress of
weather, such ship or vessel, with all the goods therein laden, shall be
forfeited and lost, whether bulk shall have been broken or not; and shall and
may be seized and prosecuted by any officer of his Majesty's customs, in such
manner and form as herein after is expressed.
XXXIV. Provided always, That nothing herein contained
shall extend, or be construed to extend, to any ship or vessel belonging to the
subjects of the French king, which shall be found fishing, and not carrying on
any illicit trade, on that part of the island of Newfoundland, which stretches
from the place called Cape Bonavista to the northern part of the said island,
and from thence running down to the western side, reaches as far as the place
called Point Riche.
XXXV. And, in order to prevent any illicit trade or
commerce between his Majesty's subjects in America, and the subjects of the
crown of France in the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, it is hereby
further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the twenty
ninth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, if any
British ship or vessel shall be found landing into, or coming out from, either
of those islands, or hovering or at anchor within two leagues of the coasts
thereof, or shall be discovered to have taken any goods or merchandizes on
board at either of them, or to have been there for that purpose; such ship or
vessel, and all the goods so taken on board there, shall be forfeited and lost,
and shall and may be seized and prosecuted by any officer of his Majesty's
customs; and the master or other person having the charge of such ship or
vessel, and every person concerned in taking any such goods on board, shall
forfeit treble the value thereof.
XXXVI. And, to prevent the concealing any goods in false
packages, or private places, on board any ship or vessel arriving at any of the
British colonies or plantations in America, with intent to their being
clandestinely landed there, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty four, all goods which shall be found concealed in any place
whatsoever on board any such ship or vessel, at any time after the master
thereof shall have made his report to the collector or other proper officer of
the customs, and which shall not be comprized or mentioned in the said report,
shall be forfeited and lost, and shall and may be seized and prosecuted, by any
officer of the customs; and the master or other person having the charge or
command of such ship or vessel (in case it can be made appear, that he was any
wise consenting or privy to such fraud or concealment) shall forfeit treble the
value of the goods so found.
XXXVII. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the said twenty ninth day of September, one
thousand seven hundred and sixty four, if any goods or merchandizes whatsoever,
liable to the payment of duties in any British colony or plantation in America
by this or any other act of parliament, shall be loaden on board any ship or
vessel outward bound, or shall be unshipped or landed from any ship or vessel
inward bound, before the respective duties due thereon are paid, agreeable to
law; or if any prohibited goods whatsoever shall be imported into, or exported
out of, any of the said colonies or plantations, contrary to the true intent
and meaning of this or any other act of parliament; every person who shall be
assisting or otherwise concerned, either in the loading outwards, or in the
unshipping or landing inwards, such goods or to whose hands the same shall
knowingly come after the loading or unshipping thereof, shall, for each and
every offence, forfeit treble the value of such goods, to be estimated and
computed according to the best price that each respective commodity bears at
the place where such offence was committed; and all the boats, horses, cattle,
and other carriages whatsoever, made use of in the loading, landing, removing,
carriage, or conveyance, of any of the aforesaid goods, shall also be forfeited
and lost, and shall and may be seized and prosecuted, by any officer of his
Majesty's customs, as herein after mentioned.
XXXVIII. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the said twenty ninth day of September, one
thousand seven hundred and sixty four, if any officer of his Majesty's customs
shall, directly or indirectly, take or receive any bribe, recompence, or
reward, in any kind whatsoever; or connive at any false entry, or make any
collusive seizure or agreement; or do any other act or deed whatsoever by which
his Majesty, his heirs or successors, shall or may be defrauded in his or their
duties, or whereby any goods prohibited shall be suffered to pass either
inwards or outwards, or whereby the forfeitures and penalties inflicted by this
or any other act of parliament relating to his Majesty's customs in America may
be evaded; every such officer therein offending shall, for each and every
offence, forfeit the sum of five hundred pounds, and be rendered incapable of
serving his Majesty in any office or employment civil or military: and if any
person or persons whatsoever shall give, offer, or promise to give any bribe,
recompence, or reward, to any officer of the customs, to do, conceal, or
connive at, any act, whereby any of the provisions made by this or any other
act of parliament relating to his Majesty's customs in America may be evaded or
broken, every such person or persons shall, for each and every such offence
whether the same offer, proposal, or promise, be accepted or performed, or not)
forfeit the sum of fifty pounds.
XXXIX. And whereas by an act of parliament made in the
seventh and eighth years of the reign of King William the Third, intituled, An
act for preventing frauds, and regulating abuses in the plantation trade, all
governors or commanders in chief of any of his Majesty's colonies or
plantations, are required to take a solemn oath, to do their utmost that all
the clauses, matters, and things, contained in that act, and several other acts
of parliament therein referred to, relating to the said colonies and
plantations be punctually and bona fide observed, according to the true intent
and meaning thereof: and whereas divers other good laws have been since made,
for the better regulating and securing the plantation trade: be it further
enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all the present governors or
commanders in chief of any British colony or plantation shall, before the
twenty ninth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty four, and
all who hereafter shall be made governors or commanders in chief of the said
colonies or plantations, or any of them, before their entrance into their
government, shall take a solemn oath, to do their utmost that all the clauses,
matters, and things, contained in any act of parliament heretofore made, and
now in force, relating to the said colonies and plantations, and that all and
every the clauses contained in this present act, be punctually and bona fide
observed, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, so far as
appertains unto the said governors or commanders in chief respectively, under
the like penalties, forfeitures, and disabilities, either for neglecting to
take the said oath, or for wittingly neglecting to do their duty accordingly,
as are mentioned and expressed in the said recited act made in the seventh and
eighth year of the reign of King William the Third; and the said oath, hereby
required to be taken, shall he administered by such person or persons as have
or have been, or shall be, appointed to administer the oath required to be
taken by the said act made in the seventh and eighth year of the reign of King
William the Third.
XL. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
That all penalties and forfeitures herein before mentioned, which shall be
incurred in Great Britain, shall and may be prosecuted, sued for, and
recovered, in any of his Majesty's courts of record at Westminster, or in the
court of Exchequer in Scotland, respectively; and (all necessary charges for
the recovery thereof being first deducted) shall be divided and applied, one
moiety to and for the use of his Majesty, his heirs and successors, and the
other moiety to the seizor or prosecutor.
XLI. And it is hereby further enacted and declared, That
from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand seven hundred
and sixty four, all sums of money granted and imposed by this act, and by an
act made in the twenty fifth year of the reign of King Charles the Second,
intituled, An act for the encouragement of the Greenland and Eastland trades,
and for the better securing the plantation trade, as rates or duties; and also
all sums of money imposed as penalties or forfeitures, by this or any other act
of parliament relating to the customs, which shall be paid, incurred. or
recovered, in any of the British colonies or plantations in America; shall be
deemed, and are hereby declared to be sterling money of Great Britain, and
shall be collected, recovered, and paid, to the amount of the value which such
nominal sums bear in Great Britain; and that such monies shall and may be
received and taken according to the proportion and value of five shillings and
six pence the ounce in silver; and that all the forfeitures and penalties
inflicted by this or any other act or acts of parliament relating to the trade
and revenues of the said British colonies or plantations in America, which
shall be incurred there, shall and may be prosecuted, sued for, and recovered
in any court of record, or in any court of admiralty, in the said colonies or
plantations where such offence shall be committed, or in any court of vice
admiralty which may or shall be appointed over all America (which court of
admiralty or vice admiralty are hereby respectively authorized and required to
proceed, hear, and determine the same) at the election of the informer or
prosecutor.
XLII. And it is hereby further enacted, That all penalties
and forfeitures so recovered there, under this or any former act of parliament,
shall be divided, paid, and applied, as follows; that is to say, after
deducting the charges of prosecution from the gross produce thereof, one third
part of the net produce shall be paid into the hands of the collector of his
Majesty's customs at the port or place where such penalties or forfeitures
shall be recovered, for the use of his Majesty, his heirs and successors; one
third part to the governor or commander in chief of the said colony or
plantation; and the other third part to the person who shall seize, inform, and
sue for the same; excepting such seizures as shall be made at sea by the
commanders or officers of his Majesty's ships or vessels of war duly authorized
to make seizures; one moiety of which seizures, and of the penalties and
forfeitures recovered thereon, first deducting the charges of prosecution from
the gross produce thereof, shall be paid as aforesaid to the collector of his
Majesty's customs, to and for the use of his Majesty, his heirs and successors,
and the other moiety to him or them who shall seize, inform, and sue for the
same; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding; subject
nevertheless to such distribution of the produce of the seizures so made at
sea, as well with regard to the moiety herein before granted to his Majesty,
his heirs and successors, as with regard to the other moiety given to the
seizor or prosecutor, as his Majesty, his heirs and successors, shall think fit
to order and direct by any order or orders of council, or by any proclamation
or proclamations, to be made for that purpose.
XLIII. Provided always, and it is hereby further enacted
by the authority aforesaid, That if the produce of any seizure made in America,
shall not be sufficient to answer the expences of condemnation and sale; or if,
upon the trial of any seizure of any ship or goods, a verdict or sentence shall
be given for the claimant, in either of those cases, the charges attending the
seizing and prosecuting such ship or goods shall and may, with the consent and
approbation of any four of the commissioners of his Majesty's customs, be paid
out of any branch of the revenue of customs arising in any of the British
colonies or plantations in America; any thing in this or any other act of
parliament to the contrary notwithstanding.
XLIV. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the said twenty ninth day of September, one
thousand seven hundred and sixty four, no person shall be admitted to enter a
claim to any ship or goods seized in pursuance of this or any other act of
parliament, and prosecuted in any of the British colonies or plantations in
America, until sufficient security be first given, by persons of known ability,
in the court where such seizure is prosecuted, in the penalty of sixty pounds,
to answer the costs and charges of prosecution; and, in default of giving such
security, such ship or goods shall be adjudged to be forfeited, and shall be
condemned.
XLV. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty four, if any ship or goods shall be seized for any
cause of forfeiture, and any dispute shall arise whether the customs and duties
for such goods have been paid, or the same have been lawfully imported or
exported, or concerning the growth, product, or manufacture, of such goods, or
the place from whence such goods were brought, then, and in such cases, the
proof thereof shall lie upon the owner or claimer of such ship or goods, and
not upon the officer who shall seize or stop the same; any law, custom, or
usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.
XLVI. And be it further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That from and after the twenty ninth day of September, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty four, in case any information shall be commenced and
brought to trial in America, on account of any seizure of any ship or goods as
forfeited by this or any other act of parliament relating to his Majesty's
customs, wherein a verdict or sentence shall be given for the claimer thereof;
and it shall appear to the judge or court before whom the same shall be tried,
and that there was a probable cause of seizure, the judge or court before whom
the same shall be tried shall certify on the record or other proceedings, that
there was a probable cause for the prosecutors seizing the said ship or goods;
and, in such case, the defendant shall not be intitled to any costs of suit
whatsoever; nor shall the persons who seized the said ship or goods, be liable
to any action, or other suit or prosecution, on account of such seizure: and in
case any action, or other suit or prosecution, shall be commenced and brought
to trial against any person or persons whatsoever, on account of the seizing
any such ship or goods, where no information shall be commenced or brought to
trial to condemn the same, and a verdict or sentence shall be given upon such
action or prosecution against the defendant or defendants, if the court or
judge before whom such action or prosecution, shall certify in like manner as
aforesaid that there was a probable cause for such seizure, then the plaintiff,
besides his ship or goods so seized, or the value thereof, shall not be
intitled to above two pence damages, nor any costs of suit; nor shall the
defendant in such prosecution be fined above one shilling.
XLVII. And be it further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That if any action or suit shall be commenced, either in Great
Britain or America, against any person or persons for any thing done in
pursuance of this or any other act of parliament relating to his Majesty's
customs, the defendant or defendants in such action or suit may plead the
general issue, and give the said acts, and the special matter, in evidence at
any trial to be had thereupon, and that the same was done in pursuance and by
the authority of such act; and if it shall appear so to have been done, the
jury shall find for the defendant or defendants; and if the plaintiff shall be
non-suited or discontinue his action after the defendant or defendants shall
have appeared, or if judgment shall be given upon verdict or demurrer against
the plaintiff, the defendant or defendants shall recover treble costs, and have
the like remedy for the same as defendants have in other cases by law.
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