WEST INDIES. 
CHAP. V.] 
3W 
pilferage and waste, between the importation and 
day of sale, as will presently be demonstrated.* 
* The statute book denominates that species of refined sugar upon 
which what is called the bounty is granted, “ Sugar in the loaf and 
whole, being nett." Upon the export of this sort of sugar the bounty 
was raised by the 5th George III. c. 45, to 14/. 6d. and a further 
bounty of 11 s. 6d. was granted by the 21 George III. c. j6. making 
together 26s. per cwt. and so it continues at present. The last boun¬ 
ty of ns. 61 i. was granted in consequence of an additional duty of 6s. 
per cwt. laid in 1781, on raw sugar imported, when lord North was 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, who frankly declared that he proposed 
the aforesaid bounty purposely to remunerate the planters from the 
import duty, which.he admitted they were unable to bear. It is evi¬ 
dent however, that the duty is permanent and certain ; the relief, tem¬ 
porary and casual; inasmuch as the export of refined sugar is altoge¬ 
ther occasional, depending on the fluctuating state of foreign markets. 
Should the foreign demand fail, on whom will this additional duty 
fall but on the planter? This consideration alone is a good reason 
why the bounty should be more than proportionate to the drawback. 
Yet when parliament, in 1791, by the 31 George III. c. 15, laid a 
further duty of 2 s. 8 d. per cwt. on raw sugar imported from the Bri¬ 
tish plantations (appropriating the same, for the term of four years, 
towards the discharge of certain exchequer bills) making the import 
duty 15s. per cwt. in the whole, no addition was made to the bounty 
on the export of refined loaf. All that could be obtained was an ad¬ 
dition of 3J. 4 d. to the drawback, on what the statute calls bastards, 
and ground or powdered sugar ; and also on refined loaf broke into 
pieces, and all sugar called candy. Upon the export of these species 
of sugar, the drawback, previous to the 31 Geo. III. stood at 1 is. 8d. 
only, while the duty paid on raw sugar imported was 12s. 4 d. and it 
being but just, that the drawback should at least be equal to the duty 
paid, 3s. 4 d. was added in that act; which, with 11s. 8d. makes 13s, 
per cwt. the precise amount of the import duties paid since that act 
took place. The minister who moved the additional duty of 2s. %d. in 
1791, proposed also at first to augment the bounty in the usual pro¬ 
portion ; but the sugar refiners remonstrated against the measuie, as 
