SOUTH CAROLINA 199 



little obstinate, or even a little suspicious and many a 

 time, in a good cause, it is necessary to influence them 

 by innocent subterfuge. But at times they have good 

 grounds for opposition ; this was the case once during 

 this Assembly. It was proposed to increase the land- 

 tax, and to raise it equally over the entire state. Now 

 the rice and indigo-plantations of the fore-country 

 produced vastly greater returns than the wheat and 

 corn-fields of the interior hence the owners of the 

 former would have felt the increase not at all or very 

 little, but to the latter it would have been an insupport- 

 able burden. So they demanded, and with all justice, 

 that the increase in the tax should be reckoned not 

 according to the land's extent, but by its quality and 

 yield. 



The revenues of the state of South Carolina for the 

 year 1783 were from the following sources: 



2y 2 per cent, tax on the proceeds of all merchants' 

 goods sold at public auction, and on other mer- 

 chandize thus sold, negroes, horses &c. The 

 amount of this tax was estimated at 10-12000 Pd. 

 Sterling. 

 2^ per cent, entrance-duty on all merchants' goods 

 brought into the country, not otherwise specially 

 listed or taxed. Last year the value of all mer- 

 chandize imported into Carolina is said to have 

 been 7-800,000 Pd ; and so this duty might be 

 reckoned at 15-16000 Pd. 

 Extra entrance-duty on sundry specially fixed Euro- 

 pean and West Indian articles of trade. 

 1 dollar, or 4 shill. 6d. Sterling, on every 100 acres 

 of land. 



