pated by its author, in which opinion he was not alone, that it would be necessary to make but two more consignments of articles to Virginia, the returns from which were expected to be so large that not only would there be an ample fund for the purchase of the Third Supply, but there would be a surplus to be reserved for the shareholders. To assure a profit upon all the merchandise to be thereafter sent over, the right was to be enjoyed by the Company of holding a monopoly of the commodities of the Colony for a period of seven years from the date of the second charter. No division was to be made of the gain to be derived during this period from the labor of the settlers or by trade with the Indians until the seven years had expired, at which time it was anticipated that the capital to be distributed among the shareholders would be very large; the amount to be received by each one was to be further increased by the division of land to take place at the close of the same period, each shareholder being entitled to an area of soil in proportion to the amount of his stock. The distribution of the common property in money and land was to be made in 1616.[1]
The terms of the charter of 1609 differed in some respects from those of the charter of 1606 with reference to trade. The exemption from subsidies and customs and all forms of taxation was extended from seven to twenty one years. The duty to be paid by English subjects, not members of the Company, who imported goods into Virginia, was increased from two and a half per cent to five, and in case of aliens, from five per cent to ten. The privilege of exporting supplies to the Colony untaxed was not curtailed in its practical enjoyment. In the month in which the charter of 1609 received the final seal of the King, a general order was issued by the Earl of Salisbury,
- ↑ Nova Britannia, pp. 23-25, Force’s Historical Tracts, vol. I.
