Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/352

 e crops of many persons could not successfully stand the test except in small part, and thus the labor of the year would practically go for nothing. It was largely apprehension that tobacco obtained from the comparatively exhausted soil of the estate that had been under cultivation for some years would not pass inspection, which led so many of the planters to show such eagerness in suing out patents to virgin land that was certain to bring forth the highest grades of the leaf. The small planter in particular was absolutely dependent each year upon the proceeds of his crop, and any cause which destroyed it altogether, or even diminished its volume very seriously, was a blow from which it was difficult for him to recover. One of the objections urged against the passage of the inspection law was, that the transportation of tobacco by boat, the only means which was then used for moving it (the plantations being situated on navigable streams), would expose it to a great variety of risks, which if realized would signify the temporary ruin of the owners who should happen to suffer the loss that would thus be incurred.

Secretary Kemp declared that the customs upon the tobacco of Virginia, in 1636, ought to have amounted to twenty thousand pounds sterling, and he recommended, as a means of showing the annual volume of the shipments, that a custom house should be established in the Colony. The English authorities approved the suggestion, although they had practically rejected it when offered by Harvey.