A. D. 1784. AN ACT FOR THE LEVYING AND COLLECTING AN IMPOST ON TRANSIENT No. 1216. PERSONS, AND OTHERS, NOT CITIZENS OF ANY OF THE UNITED STATES. WHEREAS, transient persons coming into this State to trade, do enjoy all the advantages of the citizens thereof, without contributing to the support of the Government : Preamble. sons to make sale. I. Be it therefore enacted, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the Transient persame, That from and immediately after the passing of this Act, all tran- entry on oath sient persons who shall import and bring into this State, (the citizens of of all goods for any other of the United States excepted,) or in the ports or harbors thereof, any goods, wares, or merchandises, with intent to sell or dispose of the same, shall, within twenty-four hours after the ship or vessel in which the same shall be imported is brought to an anchor, and before bulk is broken, deliver in such an entry, upon oath, to the commissioners of the treasury for the time being, as is directed by the impost Act, passed the thirteenth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, with this difference only, that it shall be known and distinguished by the title of the "Transient Duty Entry," and it shall specify, as well the quantity as the original cost or value of all the goods, wares, and merchandises so imported. cent. to be lev II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That on the amount of the said first cost of such imports, shall be levied a duty of two Duty of 2 per per cent. to be paid, or secured to be paid, to the commissioners of the ied in addition treasury in three months from the time of entry, in addition to the imposts to the imposts. already laid, and which said transient duty shall be applied to the use and service of this State. port in this III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any ship or vessel, (in which may be imported goods, wares, or merchandises, Said duty to be subject to a transient duty,) should arrive at any other port or harbor within paid at any this State than the port or harbor of Charleston, in such case it shall and State. may be lawful for the collector at the port where such ship or vessel may arrive, and he is hereby accordingly required and appointed to receive, or have secured, the transient imposts, penalties, and forfeitures, as well as those imposts, duties, penalties, and forfeitures, directed by the aforesaid. Act of the thirteenth of August, one thousand seven hundred and eightythree, and to transmit fair and just accounts thereof, from time to time, to the commissioners of the treasury, and on the receipt of payment of such transient imposts, penalties and forfeitures, to deposite the same, within one month thereafter, in the public treasury of this State, on pain of forfeiture of five hundred pounds sterling. IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any person shall neglect or refuse to deliver an entry on oath, of his invoice Penalty on or invoices, to the treasurer or collector, as the case may be, who are neglect of making entry. hereby empowered and required to administer such oath, the person so offending shall forfeit the sum of five hundred pounds sterling, one moiety thereof to the use of the State, and the other moiety to him or them who shall inform and sue for the same, to be recovered, with costs of suit, in any court of record in this State: Provided always, nevertheless, that no- Proviso. thing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to persons who come with their effects for the express purpose and intention of settling and becoming citizens of this State. A. D. 1784. Persons may eral issue. V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any action or suit shall be brought or prosecuted in any court of record in this State, against the said treasurers, or any other person or persons whomsoplead the gen- ever, for any matter or thing done, or to be done, by him, them, or any of them, by virtue of, or in pursuance of, the direction of this Act, it shall and may be lawful for him or them to plead the general issue, and to give this Act and the special matter in evidence; and in case the plaintiff or plaintiffs in such action or suit shall discontinue, be nonsuited, or verdict shall pass against him or them, then the judges of the said court shall tax and allow such defendant or defendants, his or their double costs of suit. In the Senate House, the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, and in the eighth year of the Independence of the United States of America. JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. HUGH RUTLEDGE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. No. 1217. AN ACT TO REGULATE THE INSPECTION AND EXPORTATION OF TOBACCO OF THE GROWTH AND PRODUCE OF THIS STATE, AND FOR other purposes. Preamble. be erected for of tobacco. WHEREAS, it is necessary to inspect the article of tobacco before the same is exported to foreign markets, or consumed at home, in order to prevent its being brought into discredit by the fraud or negligence of those who shall cultivate or export the same: I. Be it therefore enacted, by the honorable the Senate and House of Warehouses to Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the the inspection authority of the same, That proper warehouses shall be erected by the commissioners hereinafter to be appointed, where all tobacco, previous to its being exported, or exposed to sale by the hogshead, shall be deposited for inspection, in the manner hereinafter to be directed; which warehouses shall be established at the following places, that is to say, one warehouse or warehouses in the city of Charleston, at Gen. Gadsden's wharf; one warehouse or warehouses at Beaufort; one warehouse or warehouses at Georgetown; one warehouse or warehouses at the Cheraw Hill; one warehouse or warehouses at the most convenient place at or near the head of the navigation upon Savannah river; one warehouse or warehouses at or near Friday's Ferry, on the Congaree river; and one warehouse or warehouses on the Wateree river, near Camden; and the commissioners hereinafter respectively appointed, or a majority of them, shall, and they are hereby directed to, contract for, and cause the said warehouses to be erected, of such materials, size, and dimensions, for the receipt of tobacco to be inspected, as to them shall appear fit and necessary; and if any person shall so furnish land, and erect the necessary warehouses thereon, at his own expense, such commissioners shall have power to promise and contract for the use of the same, on such an annual rent as they shall adjudge the same to be worth, which rent shall be paid by the inspector at each warehouse, by order of the commissioners, or any two of them, out of the moneys Inspectors to arising from the impost on inspected tobacco, hereafter to be imposed by this Act; and the inspectors at the several warehouses shall make an annual return, upon oath, in the month of May in every year, to the treasury make annual return of monies. of this State, of all moneys by them received on the impost of inspected A. D.1784. tobacco, and shall pay the balances in their hands, if any there be after the necessary expenses of the inspection established by this Act are defrayed. be made of II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every tobacco hogshead shall be made of well seasoned timber, the staves whereof Hogsheads to shall not exceed four feet two inches in length, and the outside of each well seasoned head shall not exceed two feet nine inches diameter, and shall be branded timber. with the initial letters of the maker's name; which hogshead so made shall contain not less than nine hundred and fifty pounds of neat tobacco; which tobacco shall be sound, in good order, free from all dirt, trash, or unsound and unmerchantable tobacco; and the hogshead in which such tobacco shall be packed, shall be in good condition at the time of inspection, and sufficient to preserve the contents from damage on the exportation thereof to foreign markets. uncase every III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the several inspectors shall receive into their warehouses, and uncase every hogshead, Inspector to which he shall tare separately, and shall then inspect without delay all to- hogshead, bacco brought thereto for inspection, and on finding it clean, sound, and which he shall merchantable, shall brand the same with the letters S C, and shall also tare separately. number such hogshead on the head and bulge thereof, and deliver to the owner thereof a note or certificate for the same, in which shall be expressed the brand of the maker, the number, the warehouse where the same was inspected, the gross weight, the weight of each cask, and the neat weight of tobacco contained therein; which note shall entitle the bearer to take and receive such tobacco, on presenting the same to an inspector, and export such tobacco to any foreign market. IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That where any person shall bring one or more hogsheads of tobacco to any warehouse Owners can to be inspected, which on examination shall be found unclean, unsound, or found to be unpick such as is unmerchantable, such person shall have the privilege of picking the same, sound. and separating such as is good from the bad; and the inspector shall give a certificate to the owner, expressing the weight of such good tobacco, and that the same is ready to be delivered to the bearer of such note; and an apartment in each of the respective warehouses shall be made for the reception of such small parcels of tobacco, which may be prized into hogsheads, at the expense and in the manner such owner or owners shall order and appoint; and such bad tobacco as may be refused by the inspectors, shall be publicly burnt by the inspectors. tor's certificate. V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any master or owner of any ship or vessel, shall lade on board such ship or vessel, Master or ownin any river, port, or harbor within this State, in order to be exported, laden with toer of any ship any tobacco, and shall not produce to the collector of the port from whence bacco to prosuch ship or vessel shall sail, inspectors' notes or certificates, or an attested duce inspec copy of such notes or certificates, from the inspector's books, for all tobacco which he shall put on board, or shall presume to carry any tobacco to sea without having duly entered the same, and obtained a clearance from such collector, all such tobacco shall be seized and sold, and the money arising paid into the treasury of this State, in aid of the public revenue; and every such master or owner of every ship or vessel bound to sea, shall take the following oath, to be administered by the collector, that is to say: "I, A B, do solemnly swear or affirm, that I have no other tobacco on Oath. board the ship (or vessel) called the than which is contained in the manifest now delivered by me. So help me God." And if any person shall be convicted of having knowingly taken a false oath or affirmation A. D. 1784. in this respect, such person shall suffer as in cases of wilful and corrupt perjury. VI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the sevInspectors to provide scales, eral inspectors shall keep and provide at their respective warehouses, good &c. and to re- and sufficient scales, weights, prizes, and all other necessary machines and port annually the number of implements, at their own expense, and shall enter in books to be kept for hogsheads in that purpose, the number of all hogsheads of tobacco by them inspected spected. in each year, and shall, in the month of May annually, deposite in the of fice of the collector of the port of Charleston, an exact account of the number of such hogsheads as hath been inspected and passed by them in the preceding twelve months, there to be kept; and shall moreover be allowed to take and receive the following fees for inspecting and giving notes or certificates hereinafter following, to be paid by the person to whom the said tobacco shall be delivered for exportation: For inspecting every hogshead of tobacco, branding, weighing, and giving notes or certificates thereof, except in Charleston, three shillings per hogshead; if inspected, branded, and weighed in Charleston, four shillings and eight pence; for packing and prizing every hogshead of tobacco made up of small parcels of inspected tobacco, at the expense of the inspector, except in Charleston, four shillings and eight pence per hogshead; if packed and prized in Charleston, six shillings; for picking, if any person shall be employed, one-sixth part of the tobacco for the first six hundred weight, and five per cent. on such as may be found good above that in every hogshead. Inspectors' fees. VII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every Storage 1s. per hogshead of tobacco inspected at any warehouse hereinbefore mentioned, hogshead. shall be liable to a storage of one shilling per hogshead, to be paid by the person to whom such hogshead is delivered after inspection, which storage shall remain in the hands of such inspector, if it be a public store, as a fund for answering and defraying the necessary expenses incurred for rent or building of the warehouses at the respective places, and keeping the same in good repair, and shall be applied by order of the commissioners, at any time, for that purpose; and if any balance shall remain in their hands after such expenses are defrayed, the same shall be accounted for, and paid as aforesaid into the treasury. missioners to the several in spectors. VIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the folNames of com-lowing commissioners, at the respective places before mentioned, shall be, carry this act and they are hereby, appointed to carry this Act into effectual execution; into execution, that is to say, for the inspection in the city of Charleston, the city council; and appoint for the inspection at Georgetown, Job Rothmahlar, Esq. John Cogdell and Daniel Tucker; for the inspection at Beaufort, Thomas Heyward, William Hazard Wigg, and Thomas Talbird, Esqs.; for the inspection at Cheraw Hill, Benjamin Hicks, senior, John Westfield, and William Ellerby, senior; for the inspection on Savannah river, Anthony Simkins, John Herdon, Esq. and John Bardell; for the inspection at or near Friday's Ferry, on the Congaree river, Thomas Taylor, Wade Hampton, and Uriah Goodwin, Esqs.; for the inspection at the Wateree, near Camden, William Wylly, John Chesnut, and John Galbraith; which said commissioners shall have full power and authority to nominate and appoint the several inspectors at the several warehouses hereinbefore mentioned, which appointment shall consist of one at each place, and shall take good bond and security from each person so appointed, in the sum of one thousand pounds sterling, conditioned for the well and faithful discharge of his duty, payable to the treasurers of this State, and lodged in the treasury office; and if any of the inspectors shall neglect to give proper attendance at all reasonable hours, or shall be guilty of any malpractices, each inspector so A.D. 1784. offending may be removed at the pleasure of the commissioners who appointed him, and such commissioners shall have full power and authority to appoint another in his room: Provided, that no such removal shall be lawful, unless such inspector hath liberty to make his defence, and an opportunity given him to disprove the charges on which such removal is sought for. tor. IX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each inspector, previous to his entering on said office, shall take the following Oath of inspec oath or affirmation before the commissioners by whom he is appointed, and who are hereby empowered to administer the same, to wit: "I, A B, do sincerely promise and swear or affirm, that I will well and faithfully inspect all tobacco which shall be brought to me for inspection, without partiality, favor, or affection, according to the best of my judgment. So help me God." barrels after X. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That after one year from the passing of this Act, all rice barrels in which any merchant-Size of rice able rice may be offered for sale, shall be of the dimensions following: one year. that is to say, the whole barrels thirty-seven inches in the staves, and twenty-four inches wide at each head; and the half barrels thirty-seven inches long in the staves, and fifteen inches wide at each head. In the Senate House, the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, and in the eighth year of the Independence of the United States of America. JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. HUGH RUTLEDGE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. AN ACT FOR LEVYING AND COLLECTING CERTAIN DUTIES AND IMPOSTS No. 1218. PEALING AN ACT ENTITLED 66 DRED AND EIGHTY-THREE. I. Be it enacted, by the honorable the Senate and the House of Representatives, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, That all and every person or persons to whom licence shall or may be granted, in manner hereinafter directed, for keeping tavern, inn, ordinary, punch or ale house, or for retailing wine, brandy, gin, rum, beer, cider, Tax on punch, or any spirituous liquor or strong drink whatsoever, in any quantity licences. less than three gallons, within the parishes of St. Philip and St. Michael, shall pay for every such licence the sum of ten pounds sterling money to the city council, for the use of the corporation; and all and every person and persons to whom licences shall or may be granted in manner herein after mentioned, for keeping a billiard table in the parishes of St. Philip or St. Michael, shall, for every such licence, pay the sum of fifty pounds sterling to the city council, for the use of the corporation; which licences shall be granted by the city council or court of wardens in Charleston; |