BEfore England had any Sugar-Plantations of its own , Portugal had about 400000 l. Per Annum for Sugar from England , to the great Inriching of Portugal , and Impoverishing of England .

The Portugeeze having set high Customs upon their Sugars , and letting none Trade at Brazile but themselves , gave the English Encouragement to adventure upon Planting it ; who have so increased , that they not only supply England with all the Sugar it wants , whereby 400000 l. paid Portugal formerly for Sugar , is saved ; but great quantities of Sugars have been transported to foreign Markets , to the vast increase of the Wealth of this Kingdom , and by consequence the value of the Lands of England .

In the Trade to the English Sugar-Plantations , about 800 Sail of English Ships , and 10000 Sea-men , are annually employed , besides great quantities of Manufactures , and other the Product of England are carried thither for the use of the said Plantations , viz. Cloth , Serges , Stuffs , Wearing-Apparel , Bread , Beer , Flouer , Horse-Harness , Hoops , Guns , Gunpowder , Nails , Tools , and all sorts of Iron-ware , Tin-ware , and Wooden-ware , Coals , wrought Copper , Lead , all sorts of Household-goods , and Materials for Building .

The French King taking notice of the great Wealth and Strength the Sugar-Plantations bring to the Kingdom of England , and also of the Difficulties the English Plantations are under , by reason of the Acts of Trade , which enjoyning all the Sugars of the English Plantations to be brought home to England , and there to be landed , and pay the King a Custom , before it can be transported to the Streights , or any foreign Markets , which is a great charge ; hath thought it feizable , and with great application hath set himself to become Master of that Trade ; and the Dutch have done the same : and granting more Ease to their Planters , in producing and disposing of their Sugars , than the English have , the French are so far increased , that their Sugar-Plantations do already find an Employment for a great number of Ships and Sea-men , and are increasing daily : And the Dutch have already many Ships annually loaden with Sugar from Surinam , which they make a Business of State to improve .

This increase of the Sugar-Trade of the French and Dutch , had , before the laying the additional Duty in the Reign of the late King James , brought those Sugars that were worth between 5 and 6 l. the hundred weight , when the last Book of Rates was made , to be worth now not above 45 s . out of which the Planter pays 5 s . Custom , and 4 ½ per hundred to the King in the Plantations ; insomuch that an Estate which was heretofore ( when Sugar was at that rate ) worth 2000 l. per annum in the Plantations , came then not to be worth 600 l. per annum , which was not after the rate of 3 per Cent . for their Stocks : For which reason the Planters , before the laying on the additional Duty , intended to have addressed to the Parliament for reducing the Book of Rates to the present Value of Sugars .

This low Value of the Commodity caused many of the Inhabitants of the English Collonies to forsake them , before the laying the said Duty , and go to other places , whilst the King of France useth all imaginable industry to strengthen and fill his Plantations ( some of which are in sight of ours ) with Inhabitants ; having made Dunkirk a free Port for his own Sugars , where no Customs are paid in or out : by reason of which the Markets of Flanders and Holland , &c. are furnished with French Sugars at 2 s . 6 d . per hundred cheaper than the English can , by reason of the Acts of Trade .

This increase of the strength of the French Plantations and decrease of the English , hath made many of the Planters consider of withdrawing their Stocks , for fear if a War should happen with France , all would be lost .

The English Sugar-Trade being apparently decaying under the old Duty upon Sugar , can by no means bear the new , and subsist ; and it is of great advantage to France to have our Plantations ruined by the continuance of this Imposition on our Sugars : for should the French gain the Sugar-Trade from the English , England would lose the Employment of 800 sail of Ships , and 1000 Sea-men , and France would gain it ; which would differ the present balance of Sea-men 20000 , besides the loss of a Native Commodity , that hath brought so much Wealth to the Kingdom , and would also be the loss of the Trade of Guinea , which is upheld by the Plantation-Trade .

It hath ever been the Practice and Policy of Trading Nations , to set the Publick Tax on Forreign Commodities , and not those of their own Growth .

In the time of the Usurper Cromwell , when all things were raked into , to find a Revenue to support his Usurpation , no Excise was put on Sugars of the Growth of the English Plantations .

England is an Island whose Wealth and Strength consists in Trade , which cannot be preserved , but by being Master at Sea ; and the Plantation Trade is near one half of the Navigation of England , and whether it be so convenient to hazard the loss of it , by laying a Burden upon it that it cannot bear , since an Imposition may be set on Commodities of Forreign growth , that will be equivalent , is humbly submitted .

This was the sinking Condition of the English Sugar-Plantations when the late King James the Second came to the Throne ; when an Additional Tax was projected upon Sugar , and a Bill brought into the then House of Commons , for the laying of an Additional Duty of 2 s . 4 d . per Hundred , upon all Muscovado Sugar , and 7 s . per Hundred weight , upon all Sugar made fit for common use or spending of the English Plantations . Against which Duty the Planters Petitioned , and set forth how unable they were to bear the said Tax . To which the Projectors of the said Tax replyed , It was ordered in the said Bill , that it was to be paid by the first Buyer , and that it would be born by the Consumptioner , and not at all affect the Planter , whom they acknowledged were not able to bear it . To which the Planters alledge , That notwithstanding the pretended Provision made in the said Bill , it would fall wholly upon the Planter . And the House being pressed to pass the said Bill , by the Ministers of State that were of the House ; and told by one of them from the King , That if by Experience it was found to fall upon the Planter , he would forbear to Collect it ; and at the next Meeting of the Parliament , exchange it for some other Revenue . And some Members who spake against the said Tax , being required to desist : And the Planters threatned , in case they persisted in their opposition ; the said Bill was passed into an Act of Parliament .

Since which , several Petitions were presented from the Sugar-Plantations , to the late King ; shewing , That the said Tax was wholly born by the Planters , the Buyers utterly refusing to deal for any Man's Sugars , unless he would pay the said Additional Duty : And when the said Duty was paid by the Planter , he could sell his Sugar for no more then he did before any such Duty was imposed , but rather lower ; and which entirely going out of the small Profit the Planter had by making Sugar , could not be born by them : Wherefore , humbly desired , they might be eased of the said Duty , according to the said King's Promise to the House of Commons : but could get no Answer to the said Petitions , but were referred to the Commissioners of the Customs , some of which were the Projectors of the said Tax ; and were told , That it was an undecent , not to say an undutiful thing , to put the King in mind of his Promise . Whereby many of the Families who before lived comfortably , are already undone , several Sugar-works ruin'd , and a general Discouragement laid on all the English Sugar-Plantations , and the Expence of our Manufactures , and the Product of this Kingdom extreamly lessened : Whilst at the same time the French King gives Encouragement to his Plantations , who increase in Strength , whilst the Inhabitants of the English Sugar-Plantations desert them daily for want of means to get a Livelyhood there ; which will so weaken them of Defendants , that they are in great danger to become a Prey to the French , or their own Negro Slaves ; which will be a total loss of that profitable Trade to this Kingdom , and be the Ruine of many thousand Families who subsist by it .

If any one doubts that the Burden of the said Imposition falls wholly upon the Planter , it is ready to be made out by undeniable Demonstration ; which the Projectors of this Imposition had never the Confidence to pretend they were able to bear .