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Former acts repealed.

V. And be it further enacted, That all and every other act and acts, clause and clauses, heretofore made for or concerning any matter or thing within the purview of this act, shall be, and are hereby repealed.

Preamble.

shall be brought to some public warehouse, and there

CHAP. LI.

An Act for amending the staple of Tobacco, and preventing frauds in his majesty's

customs.

1. WHEREAS the laws heretofore made, have been found ineffectual to prevent the exportation of bad and trash tobacco, and the many frauds in deceiving his majesty of his customs, which of late years have greatly increased; to the great decay of the trade of this colony:

All tobacco II. BE it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant Governexported or, ouncil, and Burgesses, of this present General As(except such as hath been sembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the inspected) same, That for the more effectual preventing the exportation of trash, bad, unsound, and unmerchantable tobacco, all tobacco which, from and after the passing of this act, 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.

viewed and inspected.

No tobacco

board any

III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforeto be put on said, That no person shall put on board, or receive ship or ves- into any ship, sloop, boat, or other vessel, in order to sel for expor- be exported therein, any tobacco not packed in hogstation,before heads or casks, upon any pretence whatsoever, nor in spected; and any hogshead or cask, to be in that, or any ship, sloop, shall be ta- boat, or other vessel, exported out of this colony, beken only fore the same shall have been viewed and inspected, according to the directions of this act, (except as bewarehouses. fore excepted:) but that all tobacco whatsoever, to be

it shall be in

from the

received or taken on board any ship, sloop, or other Masters of vessel, and to be therein exported, or to be carried or ships, &c. to make oath, put on board any other ship, sloop, or other vessel, for not to perexportation, as aforesaid, shall be received or taken mit tobacco on board at the several warehouses for that

purpose

to be taken

cept stamp

mate or boat

herein after mentioned, or some or one of them, and on board exat no other place or places whatsoever. And every ed by some master, mate, or boatswain, which shall arrive in this inspector. 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 the same be packed in hogsheads or casks, stamped by some inspector legally thereunto appointed: which oath they shall sub- Master causscribe in a book; to be kept by the naval officer for ing a person that purpose. And if any master shall cause any per- not being son who is not really and bona fide mate or boatswain, swain to take to come on shore and take such oath, he shall, for the such oath, to said offence, forfeit and pay twenty pounds: And if forfeit 201. Or taking any master or commander of any ship or vessel, shall on board any take on board, or suffer to be taken on board the ship tobacco, exor vessel whereof he is master, any tobacco brought cept from a from any other place than some or one of the public warehouse, warehouses herein after mentioned, or any hogshead ed hogsheads or cask of tobacco, not stamped by some lawful in- or casks spectors, or shall suffer to be brought on board any liable to tobacco, except in hogsheads or casks, stamped as aforesaid, every such master and commander shall for- every hogsfeit and pay twenty pounds of lawful money for every head or cask, hogshead or cask of tobacco, which shall not have and tobacco been brought from one of the said public warehouses, to be forfeit. or which shall not be stamped as aforesaid; and moreover every such hogshead or cask of tobacco shall be forfeited.

and in stamp

the same

penalty for

ed.

IV. And forasmuch as the permitting tobacco in To prevent bulk or parcels to be water born, on pretence of being frauds in carried to the warehouses established by this act, may bacco on running togive great opportunity to the clandestine running the board. same on board the ships lying at or near the said warehouses, whereby the evil of exporting trash tobacco may be still continued:

All tobacco

Penalty on

the skipper and master, and how to be recover

ed.

V. Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, found on board any That if any person, taking upon himself to carry any vessel in tobacco to or from any of the said warehouses, in his bulk or par- sloop, boat, or other vessel, for hire, shall presume to cels forfeited take on board, or permit or suffer to be taken on and may be seized. board, any tobacco whatsoever in bulk or parcels, such tobacco shall not only be forfeited, and may be seized by any person or persons whatsoever; but the 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 exceeed five pounds, before any 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 recover his costs. And every servant, slave, or other person, employed in navigating such sloop, boat, or other vesIf a servant sel, who shall connive at, or conceal the taking or rebe a skip- ceiving on board any tobacco in bulk or parcel as aforeable to satis- said, shall, by order of such justices, receive on his fy the penal- bare back, thirty nine lashes, well laid on: And if ty, he shall such sloop, boat, or other vessel, be under the care and be whipt; and if he of management of a servant who cannot satisfy and pay

Every ser

vant on board concealing the fraud to be whipt.

per, and un

fend a second time, his owner subjected to penalties.

the said penalty, then such servant, and every other person employed 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 shail thereafter be employed as skipper or master of any

sloop, boat, or other vessel, to him belonging: to be recovered and applied as aforesaid.

ter-born to

VI. Provided always, That nothing herein before But tobacco contained, shall be construed to prohibit any person may be wafrom carrying, or causing to be carried to the said the warewarehouses, in any boat or other vessel, any tobacco houses, and in bulk, or parcels, for the payment of his or her le- from one vies, debts, or other duties; nor to prohibit any per- another, or plantation to son to put or take on board any sloop, boat, or other to be revessel, any hogsheads or casks of tobacco, to be water packed, sortborn to any warehouse or warehouses appointed by ed, stemmed and prized. 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 or casks from one plantation to another, for the better handling or 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 or casks: but But shall not be carried, no tobacco, on any pretence whatsoever, shall be car- inspected, ried or transported by water to be inspected, out of the district limited and appointed for the several naval out of the officers of this colony, wherein the same is or shall be district, under a penal made; or being so carried, shall not be inspected or ty of 208. on passed by any inspectors, knowing the same to be the owner made out of such district, upon pain of forfeiting, by and inspecthe owner of such tobacco, and the inspectors who tors, for every hogshead. shall pass the same, twenty shillings for every hogshead; to the informer.

VII. Provided nevertheless, That it shall and may Inhabitants be lawful for the inhabitants of Fleet's-bay, on the of Fleetssouth side of Indian creek, in the county of Lancaster, Warrisbay, and to carry their tobacco by water to the public ware- queak-bay, houses at Indian creek; and the inhabitants of War- where their risqueak-bay, and the parts adjacent, to carry their tobacco may be inspecttobacco to be passed at any warehouse in the upper ed. district of James river.

VIII. And be it further enacted, That every master Masters of of a ship or vessel wherein tobacco shall be laden, deliver two ships shall shall, at the time of clearing, deliver to the naval of- manifests of ficer, two fair manifests of all the tobacco on board all the tobac his ship or vessel, expressing the marks and numbers co on board of every hogshead, and the tare and nett weight stamp- officer on ed thereon, the person by whom shipped, and from eath.

to the naval

One of

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 to be 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 offi cer of the customs in such port or place where the said mitted to the 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.

annexed to his clearance and the other trans

chief officer

of the cus

toms.

If any per

son, trusted to carry tobacco to a

ny other

IX. 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 public ware- shall be intrusted, shall land or put on shore any hogshouse, shall head, cask, or package of tobacco, put on board the land it at a- same to be carried to any public warehouse, at any place, or put other place or places than the warehouse or wareit on board houses by this act appointed for the reception and infore it hath spection of tobacco, or at some or one of them, or the any ship, bebeen deliv- Wharfs or other landing to such warehouse or wareered at some houses belonging, or shall put the same on board any warehouse, other vessel, or suffer the same to be done, so as the or shall open same be not delivered at some of the said public wareany tobacco houses without fraud or imbezzlement, or shall open before or af- any hogshead or cask of tobacco, so as aforesaid water ter view, born and landed, and take thereout any tobacco, before the same be viewed by the inspectors, according to the directions of this act, or after the same be view ed, shall fraudulently open any hogshead or cask, and take thereout any tobacco, every such offence shall be adjudged felony; and the offender or offenders shall suffer as in case of felony.

or take out

felony.

Unless forc

tress of wea

ther on ground, or the vessel

X. Provided always, That nothing herein contained by dis- ed, shall be construed to prohibit the landing or putting on shore any hogshead, cask, or package of tobacco, out of any sloop, boat, or other vessel, which, by distress of weather, shall be forced on ground, or become lea- become leaky, so as such landing be really and bona ky, in which fide for the preservation of the tobacco laden in such be landed. vessel; and that the same be, with all convenient speed,

case it may

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