THE CASE Of their MAJESTIES SUGAR PLANTATIONS.  
BEfore England had any Sugar-Plantations of its own, Portugal had about 400000 l. Per Annum for Sugar from England, to the great enriching of Portugal, and Impoverishing of England.  
The Portugeeze having set high Customs upon their Sugars, and letting none Trade at Brazile but themselves, gave the English Encouragement to adventure upon Planting it; who have so increased, that they not only supply England with all the Sugar it wants, whereby 400000 l. paid Portugal formerly for Sugar, is saved; but great quantities of Sugars have been transported to foreign Markets, to the vast increase of the Wealth of this Kingdom, and by consequence the value of the Lands of England.  
In the Trade to the English Sugar-Plantations, about 800 Sail of English Ships, and 10000 Sea-men, are annually employed, besides great quantities of Manufactures, and other the Product of England are carried thither for the use of the said Plantations, viz. Cloth, Serges, Stuffs, Wearing-Apparel, Bread, Beer, Flouer, Horse-Harness, Hoops, Guns, Gunpowder, Nails, Tools, and all sorts of Iron-ware, Tin-ware, and Wooden-ware, Coals, wrought Copper, led, all sorts of Household-goods, and Materials for Building.  
The French King taking notice of the great Wealth and Strength the Sugar-Plantations bring to the Kingdom of England, and also of the Difficulties the English Plantations are under, by reason of the Acts of Trade, which enjoining all the Sugars of the English Plantations to be brought home to England, and there to be landed, and pay the King a Custom, before it can be transported to the Streights, or any foreign Markets, which is a great charge; hath thought it feizable, and with great application hath set himself to become Master of that Trade; and the Dutch have done the same: and granting more Ease to their Planters, in producing and disposing of their Sugars, than the English have, the French are so far increased, that their Sugar-Plantations do already find an Employment for a great number of Ships and Sea-men, and are increasing daily: And the Dutch have already many Ships annually loaden with Sugar from Surinam, which they make a Business of State to improve.  
This increase of the Sugar-Trade of the French and Dutch, had, before the laying the additional Duty in the Reign of the late King James, brought those Sugars that were worth between 5 and 6 l. the hundred weight, when the last Book of Rates was made, to be worth now not above 45 s. out of which the Planter pays 5 s. Custom, and 4 ½ per hundred to the King in the Plantations; insomuch that an Estate which was heretofore( when Sugar was at that rate) worth 2000 l. per annum in the Plantations, came then not to be worth 600 l. per annum, which was not after the rate of 3 per Cent. for their Stocks: For which reason the Planters, before the laying on the additional Duty, intended to have addressed to the Parliament for reducing the Book of Rates to the present Value of Sugars.  
This low Value of the Commodity caused many of the Inhabitants of the English colonies to forsake them, before the laying the said Duty, and go to other places, whilst the King of France useth all imaginable industry to strengthen and fill his Plantations( some of which are in sight of ours) with Inhabitants; having made Dunkirk a free Port for his own Sugars, where no Customs are paid in or out: by reason of which the Markets of Flanders and Holland, &c. are furnished with French Sugars at 2 s. 6 d. per hundred cheaper than the English can, by reason of the Acts of Trade.  
This increase of the strength of the French Plantations and decrease of the English, hath made many of the Planters consider of withdrawing their Stocks, for fear if a War should happen with France, all would be lost.  
The English Sugar-Trade being apparently decaying under the old Duty upon Sugar, can by no means bear the new, and subsist; and it is of great advantage to France to have our Plantations ruined by the continuance of this Imposition on our Sugars: for should the French gain the Sugar-Trade from the English, England would lose the Employment of 800 sail of Ships, and 1000 Sea-men, and France would gain it; which would differ the present balance of Sea-men 20000, besides the loss of a Native Commodity, that hath brought so much Wealth to the Kingdom, and would also be the loss of the Trade of Guinea, which is upheld by the Plantation-Trade.  
It hath ever been the practise and Policy of Trading Nations, to set the public Tax on foreign Commodities, and not those of their own Growth.  
In the time of the Usurper cronwell, when all things were raled into, to find a Revenue to support his Usurpation, no Excise was put on Sugars of the Growth of the English Plantations.  
England is an iceland whose Wealth and Strength consists in Trade, which cannot be preserved, but by being Master at Sea; and the Plantation Trade is near one half of the Navigation of England, and whether it be so convenient to hazard the loss of it, by laying a Burden upon it that it cannot bear, since an Imposition may be set on Commodities of foreign growth, that will be equivalent, is humbly submitted.  
This was the sinking Condition of the English Sugar-Plantations when the late King James the Second came to the Throne; when an Additional Tax was projected upon Sugar, and a Bill brought into the then House of Commons, for the laying of an Additional Duty of 2 s. 4 d. per Hundred, upon all Muscovado Sugar, and 7 s. per Hundred weight, upon all Sugar made fit for common use or spending of the English Plantations. Against which Duty the Planters Petitioned, and set forth how unable they were to bear the said Tax. To which the Projectors of the said Tax replied, It was ordered in the said Bill, that it was to be paid by the first Buyer, and that it would be born by the Consumptioner, and not at all affect the Planter, whom they acknowledged were not able to bear it. To which the Planters allege, That notwithstanding the pretended Provision made in the said Bill, it would fall wholly upon the Planter. And the House being pressed to pass the said Bill, by the Ministers of State that were of the House; and  told by one of them from the King, That if by Experience it was found to fall upon the Planter, he would forbear to Collect it; and at the next Meeting of the Parliament, exchange it for some other Revenue. And some Members who spake against the said Tax, being required to desist: And the Planters threatened, in case they persisted in their opposition; the said Bill was passed into an Act of Parliament.  
Since which, several Petitions were presented from the Sugar-Plantations, to the late King; showing, That the said Tax was wholly born by the Planters, the Buyers utterly refusing to deal for any Man's Sugars, unless he would pay the said Additional Duty: And when the said Duty was paid by the Planter, he could sell his Sugar for no more then he did before any such Duty was imposed, but rather lower; and which entirely going out of the small Profit the Planter had by making Sugar, could not be born by them: Wherefore, humbly desired, they might be eased of the said Duty, according to the said King's Promise to the House of Commons: but could get no Answer to the said Petitions, but were referred to the Commissioners of the Customs, some of which were the Projectors of the said Tax; and were  told, That it was an undecent, not to say an undutiful thing, to put the King in mind of his Promise. Whereby many of the Families who before lived comfortably, are already undone, several Sugar-works ruined, and a general Discouragement laid on all the English Sugar-Plantations, and the expense of our Manufactures, and the Product of this Kingdom extremely lessened: Whilst at the same time the French King gives Encouragement to his Plantations, who increase in Strength, whilst the Inhabitants of the English Sugar-Plantations desert them daily for want of means to get a livelihood there; which will so weaken them of Defendants, that they are in great danger to become a Prey to the French, or their own Negro Slaves; which will be a total loss of that profitable Trade to this Kingdom, and be the ruin of many thousand Families who subsist by it.  
If any one doubts that the Burden of the said Imposition falls wholly upon the Planter, it is ready to be made out by undeniable Demonstration; which the Projectors of this Imposition had never the Confidence to pretend they were able to bear.