stated by your Lordships in the annexed paper, upon the act for preventing frauds, and regulating abuses in his Majesty's customs, arising upon some discourse your Lordships had with Mr. Godolphin, and am humbly of opinion that foreign-built ships, of English property, and manned by English, though purchased since the year 1662, may make the voyages that any foreign ship, made free before that time, might have made, and may lawfully trade in the enumerated goods, paying alien duties; and that this has been always the opinion of the court of exchequer, and the practice has been accordingly, and there is now no pretence to fancy that, although such ships are now deemed as alien ships, they are liable to forfeitures as if they were in the hands of aliens, for that the only alteration made by the clause stated, is, that such foreign-built ships, owned by Britons, are to pay duty as alien ships, but they are qualified, as ships belonging to the people of Britain, to trade as such ships might have traded, by the act of naviga tion.

March 12, 1717.

EDW. NORTHEY.

(5.) The opinion of the Solicitor General Thomson, on Spanish ships trading to the British Islands.

Sir;

In obedience to the commands of the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, signified by yours of the 2d instant, I think it plain, that by the first clause in the act of navigation, viz: the 12th of Car. II., that Spanish ships, coming from Spanish ports in America, laden with the product of those countries, are prohibited to be imported into our colonies or plantations, under the penalty of the loss of the goods and ship; and also

they are prohibited to export goods from thence in ship

ping, not English, &c.

February 4, 1719-20.

WM. THOMSON.

(6.) Mr. West's opinion on the same subject.

To the Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations.

My Lords;

In obedience to your Lordships' commands, I have considered the following quare, whether Spanish ships, coming from Spanish ports in America, and laden with the products of those countries, are prohibited by any acts of trade, and particularly those of the 12th and 15th of King Charles II. and that of the 7th and 8th of King William, to unload and sell their cargoes, in any of the British plantations in America, and to load again there? And I am of opinion that Spanish ships, coming from Spanish ports in America, &c. are within the intent of the above mentioned statutes, and are thereby prohib ited from unlading and selling their cargoes in any of the British plantations again there.

January 29, 1719-20.

RICH. WEST.

(7.) The opinion of the Attorney-General, Northey, on the importation of naval stores from Holland.

To the Queen's most excellent Majesty.

May it please your Majesty.

In humble obedience to your Majesty's command, signified to me by Mr. Secretary Hedges, I have considered of the annexed memorial of his Royal Highness, whereby it is proposed unto your Majesty, for the reasons therein mentioned, that leave may be given for importing

tar and pitch from Holland, Hamburgh, or such other foreign parts, from whence the same may be had on the best terms, for furnishing her Majesty's navy therewith, for the ensuing as well as the present year; and I do humbly certify your Majesty, that for explaining the act for increasing and encouraging of shipping and navigation, by a clause in the statute, made in the 14th year of the reign of the late King Charles the Second, for preventing frauds and regulating abuses in the customs, it is enacted and declared, "That no pitch or tar shall be imported into England, Wales, or Berwick, from the Netherlands or Germany, upon any pretence whatsoev er, upon penalty of the loss of all the said goods, as also of the ships and furniture, one moiety whereof is to be to your Majesty, and the other moiety to the informer, who shall seize or sue for the same; by reason of which clause, I am humbly of opinion that such leave cannot be given to the merchants who are to sell to the commissioners of your Majesty's navy, to import those goods from Holland or Hamburgh, for that it will be licensing an importation expressly prohibited by that act; but notwithstanding that act, I do not see but that your Majesty may, for the service of your navy, in your own ships, import what pitch and tar your Majesty shall want for that service, from Holland or any other place, that act being intended to regulate trade, and not to restrain the Crown from importing from any place for the service of the navy, which appears from the forfeiture given by that act of the goods imported, and the ships in which they should be imported, one-half to the Crown the other half to the informer, which is not practicable in case of an importation made by your Majesty; however, there being a bill ordered to be brought in the

house of commons, for a temporary suspension of that part of the act of navigation that requires the merchant ships to be manned with three-fourths of the mariners English, I humbly submit it to your Majesty, if it will not be for your Majesty's service to have a clause in that bill, to enable a temporary importation of naval stores, as is proposed by his Royal Highness's memorial. January 13, 1703. EDW. NORTHEY.

(8.) The opinion of the Attorney, and Solicitor-General, Yorke and Wearg, on the same topics.

To the Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations.

May it please your Lordships;

In obedience to your Lordships' commands, signified to us by a letter from Mr. Popple, of the 3rd instant, transmitting to us the annexed copy of a petition of the Muscovy company to his Majesty, and directing us to report to your Lordships our opinion, whether, as the law now stands, hemp, of the growth of Russia, may be imported in English bottoms from the Netherlands? We have considered the said petition, and do apprehend, that by the act of navigation no restraint is laid upon the importation of hemp, of the growth of Russia, from other places beside those of its growth, or such ports where it can only, or most usually is shipped for transportation ; and it appears to be none of the commodities particularly enumerated in the act of frauds, 14th Car. II. which are prohibited to be imported from Germany or the Netherlands, and, therefore, we are of opinion, that, as the law now stands, such hemp may be imported in English shipping, duly navigated from the Netherlands; but this being a quare which concerns a matter of so great

consequence as the navigation of this kingdom, we thought it proper to transmit a copy of the said petition. to the commissioners of his Majesty's customs, in order to be informed by them what has been the usage and practice in this instance: whereupon the commissioners of the customs having referred it to their patent officers to certify such practice, were pleased to lay before us the certificate of those officers, hereunto annexed, whereby it appears that hemp in general has been usually imported from Holland, and paid customs according to the book of rates, without inquiring into the place of its growth.

March 13, 1723.

P. YORKE. .C. WEARG.

(9.) The opinion of the Solicitor-General, Mountague, on Irish ships carrying barley from Rochelle to Lisbon, in 1708.

Sir:

I was very sorry to find, by yours of the 12th of this instant, November, that the Lords Commissioners of Trade had not received the opinion I had written to the quære sent me upon the extract of Lord Galloway's letter, which, you will perceive, has been wrote ever since the 26th of October, but was mislaid among my papers, and forgot to be sent; but I hope it will come time enough to answer the purposes they want it for: therefore, with my humble service, I desire you will lay it before their Lordships. JAS. MOUNTague.

Extract of a letter from the Earl of Galloway, her Majesty's ambassador extraordinary, in Portugal, to the Earl of Sunderland, dated at Lisbon, the 6th of August, 1708, N. S.