LETTER from the Minister to M. de Larnage, deciding that the duty of one half percent on nègres belongs to the Command and not to the Etat-Major

I reported to the King on the dispute between the sieurs Rance and Binau over the duty of one half percent on the nègres brought in at Léogane during the vacancy of the Lieutenance de Roi and of the Majorité of that Place. After examining the reasons each of these two Officers put forward to support his claim to the proceeds of this duty during that interval, His Majesty ordered me to let you know that the sieur de Rance is the one who is to enjoy it, and that you are to have it paid over to him. The sieur Binau was in fact mistaken when he believed that the duty of one half percent on cargoes of nègres was among those attached to the Etat-Major of the Places. When the King was pleased to permit the collection of the two percent on these cargoes, it was for the same reason for which trade had offered it, that is, in consideration of the protection that trade may need, and it is for this purpose that it is divided among the Gouverneur-Général, the Intendant and the Gouverneur-Particulier, or the Officer in command in the latter’s absence.

For extract, signed LARNAGE.