Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/449

 stated that the privilege of exemption which had been enjoyed by such persons was withdrawn from them. In October of the same year, it was urged by the owners of the Planters&#8217; Adventure, among whom was Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., all of his associates being residents of Virginia, that their ship should continue to be exempt from the castle duty and the duty of two shillings a hogshead, as it would be unjust to apply the repeal of the provision to vessels which had for many years enjoyed its benefit.

So active as well as so judicious were the steps now taken in Virginia to encourage the building of ships, that the apprehensions of the English Government were aroused. In 1680, Culpeper was ordered to annul the laws exempting the Virginian owners of vessels constructed in the Colony from the payment of duty on exported tobacco, together with the duty imposed upon incoming ships for the maintenance of the fort. The ground upon which this command was based was the injustice of granting special privileges to shipowners in Virginia which were not enjoyed by owners of English vessels trailing in Virginian waters. Moreover, the encouragement held out by the Virginian laws to Virginian ship-builders, would, in the judgment of the English authorities, impair the success of the Navigation Acts by creating a Virginian fleet which would be able to transport the tobacco to the mother country without the assistance of English vessels. It would also, it was said at a later date, tempt the owners of