3 1 8 HISTORY OF THE [book vi. 
and as the principal of those products is sugar, I 
shall confine my remarks to that article. 
The term Drawback, in the language of the 
custom-house, is applied to the tax repaid upon the 
exportation of raw sugar, and the word Bounty to 
the money which is paid upon the exportation of 
what is refined, and exported in loaf unbroken. 
The word drawback sufficiently expresses its mean¬ 
ing ; for (excepting the gain to government by in¬ 
terest, in consequence of having had a deposite of 
the tax for some time in its hands, and excepting 
the duty retained on the quantity wasted while the 
sugar continued in a British port) the original duty 
paid at importation, is refunded on exportation, 
without diminution or addition. This at present 
(including the last duty of 2s. 8 d. laid in 1791, and 
declared to be temporary) is 15y. the hundred 
weight. But as to the bounty, the case was once 
different. To encourage the refining trade in 
Great Britain, government gave an actual premium 
on the export of refined sugar in loaves, in addition 
to the drawback, and the collective sums so refund¬ 
ed and paid, amounting together to 26s. the hun¬ 
dred weight, obtained generally the name of boun¬ 
ty ; a name which is still retained, although in fact, 
since the last duty was laid, the extra sum which is 
paid beyond the drawback, is but little, if any thing, 
more than a compensation for the duty which is 
paid on the extra quantity of raw sugar expended 
in producing a given quantity of refined, and lost, by 
