OF THE LEVIES FOR PAYMENT OF THE PUBLIC COUNTY AND PARISH DEBTS.
Sec. 18. They have but two ways of raising money publicly in that country,
viz: by duties upon trade, and a poll tax, which they call levies. Of
the duties upon trade, I have spoken sufficiently in the preceding
chapter. I come, therefore, now to speak of the levies, which are a
certain rate or proportion of tobacco charged upon the head of every
tithable person in the country, upon all alike, without distinction.
They call all negroes above sixteen years of age tithable, be they male
or female, and all white men of the same age; but children and white
women are exempted from all manner of duties.
That a true account of all these tithable persons may be had, they are
annually listed in crop time, by the justices of each county
respectively; and the masters of families are obliged, under great
penalties, then to deliver to those justices a true list of all the
tithable persons in their families.
Their levies are threefold, viz: public, county and parish levies.
Sec. 19. Public levies are such as are proportioned and laid equally, by
the general assembly, upon every tithable person throughout the whole
colony. These serve to defray several expenses appointed by law, to be
so defrayed, such as the executing of a criminal slave, who must be made
good to his owner. The taking up of runaways, and the paying of the
militia, when they happen to be employed upon the service. Out of these
they likewise pay the several officers of the assembly, and some other
public officers. They further defray the charge of the writs, for the
meeting of the house of burgesses, public expresses, and such like.
The authority for levying this rate is given by a short act of assembly,
constantly prepared for that purpose.
Sec. 20. The county levies are such as are peculiar to each county, and
laid by the justices upon all tithable persons, for defraying the charge
of their counties, such as the building and repairing their court
houses, prisons, pillories, stocks, &c., and the payment of all
services, rendered to the county in general.
Sec. 21. The parish levies are laid by the vestry, for the payment of all
charges incident to the several parishes, such as the building,
furnishing, and adorning their churches and chapels, buying glebes and
building upon them, paying their ministers, readers, clerks, and
sextons.