By the beginning
of the eighteenth century the slave-trade was openly recognized as
legitimate commerce; cargoes came regularly to Boston, and "The
merchants of Boston quoted negroes, like any other merchandise demanded
by their correspondents."[18] At the same time, the Puritan conscience
began to rebel against the growth of actual slavery on New England soil.
It was a much less violent wrenching of moral ideas of right and wrong
to allow Massachusetts men to carry slaves to South Carolina than to
allow cargoes to come into Boston, and become slaves in Massachusetts.
Early in the eighteenth century, therefore, opposition arose to the
further importation of Negroes, and in 1705 an act "for the Better
Preventing of a Spurious and Mixt Issue," laid a restrictive duty of L4
on all slaves imported.[19] One provision of this act plainly
illustrates the attitude of Massachusetts: like the acts of many of the
New England colonies, it allowed a rebate of the whole duty on
re-exportation. The harbors of New England were thus offered as a free
exchange-mart for slavers. All the duty acts of the Southern and Middle
colonies allowed a rebate of one-half or three-fourths of the duty on
the re-exportation of the slave, thus laying a small tax on even
temporary importation.
The Act of 1705 was evaded, but it was not amended until 1728, when the
penalty for evasion was raised to L100.
Pages:
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66