1787: 27 George 3 c.27: An Act for allowing the Importation and Exportation of certain Goods, Wares, and Merchandize, in the Ports of Kingston, Savannah la Mar, Montego Bay, and Santa Lucea in the Island of Jamaica, in the Port of Saint George in the Island of Grenada, in the Port of Roseau in the Island of Dominica, and in the Port of Nassau in the Island of New Providence, one of the Bahama Islands, under certain Regulations and Restrictions.

[Preamble, reciting 6 Geo. 3 c. 49.]

‘WHEREAS by an Act made and passed in the sixth Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act for opening and establishing certain Ports in the Island of Jamaica and Dominica; for the more free Importation and Exportation of certain Goods and Merchandizes; for granting certain Duties to defray the Expences of opening, maintaining, securing, and improving such Ports; for ascertaining the Duties to be paid upon the Importation of Goods from the said Island of Dominica into this Kingdom; and for securing the Duties upon Goods imported from the said Island into any other British Colony;

[14 Geo. 3. c. 41. and 21 Geo. 3. c. 29.]

and by two several Acts made and passed in the fourteenth and twenty-first Years of the Reign of his present Majesty, the several Ports of Kingston, Savannah la Mar, Montego Bay and Santa Lucea in the Island of Jamaica, are now open for the free Importation of certain Goods and Merchandize: And whereas it is expedient that the said Acts should be repealed, in so far as the same in any wise relate to the Importation or Exportation of any Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, to or from the aforesaid Ports, or any of them, or to the Admission of any Ships or Vessels into the said Ports, or any of them, or to any Duties payable on such Importation, Exportation, or Admission; and that those Ports, together with the Port of Saint George in the Island of Grenada, and the Port of Roseau in the Island of Dominica, and the Port of Nassau in the Island of New Providence one of the Bahama Islands, should be opened under proper Regulations and Restrictions:’

May it therefore please your Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same,

[From Sept. 1. 1787, the recited Acts to be repealed, as far as they relate to the Importation and Exportation of Goods to or from the Ports therein mentioned, &c.;]

That the several Acts made and passed in the said sixth, fourteenth, and twenty-first Years of the Reign of his present Majesty, shall, from and after the first Day of September one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, be, and the same are hereby repealed, in so far as the same in any wise relate to the Importation or Exportation of any Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, to or from the aforesaid Ports, or any of them; or to the Admission of any Ships or Vessels into the said Ports, or any of them, or to any Duties payable on such Importation, Exportation, or Admission.

[and from that Day, the Articles herein enumerated, of the Growth of any Colony in America belonging to a foreign European State, may be imported into the Ports herein mentioned in one-decked foreign European Vessels, not exceeding 70 Tons Burthen.]

II. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That, from and after the said first Day of September, Wool, Cotton-wool, Indigo, Cochineal, Drugs of all Sorts, Cocoa, Logwood, Fustick, Sorts of Wood for Dyers Use, Hides, Skins, and Tallow, Beaver and all Sorts of Furs, Tortoise-shell, Hardwood, or Mill Timber, Mahogany, and all other Woods for Cabinet Ware, Horses, Asses, Mules, and Cattle being the Growth or Production of any of the Colonies or Plantations in America, belonging to or under the Dominion of any foreign European Sovereign, or State, and all Coin and Bullion, Diamonds, or precious Stones, may be imported from any of the said Colonies or Plantations into the several Ports of Kingston, Savannah la Mar, Montego Bay and Santa Lucea in the Island of Jamaica, the Port of Saint George in the Island of Grenada, the Port of Roseau in the Island of Dominica, and the Port of Nassau in the Island of New Providence, one of the Bahama Islands, in any foreign Sloop, Schooner, or other Vessel whatever, not having more than one Deck, and not exceeding the Burthen of seventy Tons, and being owned and navigated by the Subjects of any foreign European Sovereign or State; any Law, Custom, or Usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.

[If any Articles not herein enumerated should be imported into any of the said Ports, they and the Vessels, &c. to be forfeited.]

III. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That, from and after the said first Day of September, no Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, except such as are herein-before enumerated, shall be imported in any such foreign Sloop, Schooner, or Vessel whatever, from any of the Colonies or Plantations in America belonging to or under the Dominion of any foreign European sovereign or State, into any of the before-mentioned Ports, upon any Pretence whatever, upon Pain of forfeiting the same, together with the Sloop, Schooner, or Vessel in which the same shall be imported, and the Guns, Tackle, Apparel, and Furniture of such Sloop, Schooner, or Vessel; and in every such Case the same shall and may be seized by any Officer or Officers of his Majesty’s Customs or Navy, who are or shall be authorised or empowered to make Seizures in Cases of Forfeiture, and shall and may be prosecuted in such Manner as herein after is directed.

[Rum, Negroes, and Goods legally imported except Masts &c. may be exported from the said Ports to such foreign Colonies in America, in one-decked foreign European Vessels, not exceeding 70 Tons Burthen.]

IV. And it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful, from and after the said first Day of September to export from any of the said Ports to any of the Colonies or Plantations in America belonging to or under the Dominion of any foreign European Sovereign or State, in any Sloop, Schooner, or other Vessel whatever, owned and navigated by the Subjects of any foreign European Sovereign or State, not having more than one Deck, and not exceeding the Burthen of seventy Tons, Rum of the Produce of any British island, and also Negroes which shall have been brought into the said Islands respectively in British-built Ships, owned, navigated, and registered according to Law, and all Manner of Goods, Wares, or Merchandize which shall have been legally imported into the said Islands respectively, except Masts, Yards, or Bowsprits, Pitch, Tar, Turpentine, and Tobacco; and also except such Iron as shall have been brought from the British Colonies or Plantations in America; any Law, Custom, or Usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.

[The Legality of the Importation of such Goods to be proved before Exportation.]

V. Provided always, and it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Doubt shall arise whether such Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, intended to be so exported, shall have been legally imported into the said Islands of Jamaica, Grenada, Dominica, and New Providence respectively, the legality of such Importation shall be made appear to the Satisfaction of the Collector and Comptroller, or other Principal Officer of the Customs at the Port of Exportation, before such Goods, Wares, or Merchandize shall be suffered to be shipped for Exportation.

[The Articles herein enumerated may be exported from Jamaica, &c. to Great Britain or Ireland, under the Regulations of 12 Car. 2. c. 18.; 22 and 23 Car. 2. c. 26.; and 20 Geo. 3. c. 20.]

VI. And it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That, from and after the said first Day of September, all Wool, Cotton Wool, Indigo, Cochineal, Drugs of all Sorts, Cocoa, Logwood, Fustick, and all Sorts of Wood for Dyers Use, Hides, Skins, and Tallow, Beaver and all Sorts of Furs, Tortoise-shell, Mahogany, and all other Woods for Cabinet Ware, of the Growth or Production of any of the Colonies or Plantations in America, belonging to or under the Dominion of any foreign European Sovereign or State, shall be allowed to be exported from the said Islands of Jamaica, Grenada, Dominica, and New Providence respectively, to Great Britain or Ireland, under the Rules, Regulations, Restrictions, Securities, Penalties, and Forfeitures particularly mentioned and provided in an Act of Parliament, made in the twelfth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An Act for the encouraging and encreasing of Shipping and Navigation; and in another Act of Parliament, made in the twenty-second and twenty-third Years of the Reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An Act to prevent the planting of Tobacco in England, and for regulating the Plantation Trade; and in another Act of Parliament, made in the twentieth Year of his present Majesty’s Reign, intituled, An Act to allow the Trade between Ireland, and the British Colonies and Plantations in America and the West Indies, and the British Settlements on the Coast of Africa, to be carried on in like Manner as it is now carried on between Great Britain and the said Colonies and Settlements; or in any of the said Acts, with respect to the Goods, Wares, or Merchandize therein enumerated or described.

[If any Goods of the Growth, &c. of Europe, the East Indies, &c. be exported from Grenada, Dominica, or Bahama, to any British Colony in America, or the West Indies, they are forfeited, with the Vessels, &c.]

VII. And it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That, from and after the said first Day of September, no Goods or Commodities whatever, of the Growth, Production, or Manufacture of Europe, or the East Indies, or other Places beyond the Cape of Good Hope, shall, upon any Pretence whatever, be exported from the Islands of Grenada or Dominica, or from the Bahama Islands to any other British Colony or Plantation in America, or the West Indies, upon Pain of forfeiting such Goods or Commodities, together with the Ship or Vessel in which the same shall be so exported, and the Guns, Tackle, Apparel, and Furniture of such Ship or Vessel; and in every such Case the same shall and may be seized by any Officer or Officers of the Customs or Navy, who are or shall be authorised and impowered to make Seizures in Cases of Forfeiture; and shall and may be prosecuted in such Manner as herein after is directed.

[No Duty or Fee to be taken at Jamaica, &c. for any Entry of foreign Vessels, on Penalty inflicted by 5 Geo. 3. c. 45.]

VIII. And it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Duty of Gunpowder, nor any Fee or Reward whatever, shall be demanded, taken, or received, by any Officer or Officers whatever in the said Islands of Jamaica, Grenada, Dominica, and New Providence respectively, for any Entry, Cocquet, Clearance, or Passport, for any foreign Ship or Vessel, or for any Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, imported into or exported from the said Islands respectively, in such foreign Ships or Vessels, under the like Pains and Penalties as are inflicted upon Officers exacting or receiving greater Fees than are allowed by an Act made in the fifth Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act for more effectually securing and encouraging the Trade of his Majesty’s American Dominions; for repealing the Inland Duty on Coffee imposed by an Act made in the thirty-second Year of his late Majesty King George the Second; and for granting an Inland Duty on all Coffee imported (except Coffee of the Growth of the British Dominions in America); for altering the Bounties and Drawbacks upon Sugars exported; for repealing Part of an Act made in the twenty-third Year of his said late Majesty, whereby Bar Iron made in the said Dominions was prohibited to be exported from Great Britain, or carried Coastwise; and for regulating the Fees of the Officers of the Customs in the said Dominions.

[How Penalties are to be recovered and divided.]

IX. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all Penalties and Forfeitures imposed by this Act shall and may be respectively prosecuted, sued for, recovered, and divided, in Great Britain, Guernsey, Jersey, or the Isle of Man, or in any of his Majesty’s Colonies or Islands in America, in the same Manner or Form, and by the same Rules and Regulations, in all Respects, as any other Penalties and Forfeitures imposed by any Act or Acts of Parliament made for the Security of the Revenue of the Customs, or for the Regulation or Improvement thereof, or for the Regulation of Trade or Navigation, and which were in force immediately before the passing of this Act, may be respectively prosecuted, sued for, recovered, and divided, in Great Britain, Guernsey, Jersey, or the Isle of Man, or in any of his Majesty’s Colonies or Islands in America.

[Act to continue to force to Sept. 1, 1792, and to the End of the then next Session.]

X. And it is hereby further enacted, That this Act shall continue in force to the first Day of September one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, and from thence to the End of the then next Session of Parliament.

Source: Ruffhead, Statutes at Large, vol. 15.