§
A Petition of the Planters, Merchants, and others interested in his Majesy's island of Tobago was presented and read; setting forth,
That the depreciation in the price of Sugar, the staple commodity of the island of Tobago, if it continues, must, in a short time, occasion the total ruin of the Planters and others connected with them; and that the price of Sugar, for the present year, does not (except in the cases of what is remarkably fine), pay the expence of making, and, in some instances, does not pay the duties, freight, and other charges; and that, in the present state of West India credit, many planters will
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soon want the means of procuring articles of the first necessity for themselves, their servants, and negroes, such as clothing, medicines, and salt provisions, for it cannot be expected that the British merchant will continue to make advances, when he does not receive even the interest of the money already advanced; and that the planters will be deprived of the means of maintaining or affording a liberal education to their children, or of supporting the civil establishment of the colony, which, in time of war, is peculiarly bur-thensome; and that government receives about 20l. sterling as duty upon every hogshead of Sugar, and from 50l. to 60l. sterling on every puncheon of rum, the ship-owner, insurer, and others, about 10l. sterling per hogshead of Sugar, and from 6l. to 8l. sterling on every puncheon of rum, when the planter, in return for his capital, and his own exertion, does not receive one sixpence after paying the current expences in the island; and that nothing but the hope of relief, and the duty they owe to their creditors, could induce the planters to continue the cultivation of their estates for any other purpose than that of maintaining themselves and negroes, by raising stock and provisions, the consequence of which might be, that their estates would be brought to sale, and, as there could not be purchasers for what had no effective value, the proprietors, and the greatest part of their creditors, would be involved in general ruin; and praying for relief.
§ Ordered to lie upon the table.