Taxation 1689-1710.
With the restoration of the government in 1690, after the fall of Andros, Rhode Island enters upon a new period of her history, a period marked within by a stronger central authority and a more settled and orderly government.[[74]]
In 1695, the governor was granted a salary of £10 a year, the deputy governor £6 and the assistants £4 each. All these officers had previously been exempted from taxation.[[75]] Without the period was one of successive wars against the French and Spaniards, wars which required the support of a paid soldiery and, for a colony situated as was Rhode Island with her great extend of sea coast, the maintenance of strong defences against hostile ships. The charter was also endangered by the attacks of the Narragansett proprietors, and later of Bellemont and Dudley, and this required considerable expenditures to meet the expenses of the agent in England. The taxes and the purposes for which they were levied during the remainder of the period of which we are now treating can be seen in the following table.
| Date of Ass'm'nt. | Amount. | Purpose. | Payment may be made in |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[76]]May 1690 | £300 | "for the support of their Majesties' interest against the French and Indian enemies." | wool, butter, Indian corn, rye and pork. |
| July 1695 | 2d. in the pound. | Same as last. | |
| Oct. 1695 | 1d. in the pound. | Agent, and, if surplus, to pay the colony's debts. | |
| May 1696 July 1696 | 2d. in the pound. | ||
| Aug. 1698 | £800 | "pay the Colony's debts, and putting monies in bank, for sending an agent for England." | |
| Oct. 1699 | £600 | "for sending agent for England" | |
| March 1700/1 | £400 "current money of this Colony" | "for paying the Collony's debts and defraying of the publick Charge." | |
| March 1701/2 | £200 "in money" | "for the use and benefit" of the colony according to the direction of the governor and council. | |
| May 1702 | £300 "in money or good pay equivalent." | Same as last. | Money, indian corn, oats, barley, rye. |
| Feb. 1702/3 | £500 | £200 for fort £150 for jail £150 for debts | money, indian corn, barley, wheat, rye, oats, wool. |
| Jan. 1703/4 | £500 | "for the support of the government." | "money or pay equivalent, according to the Collony's acts heretofore made." |
| May 1704 | £700 in "money or pay equivalent." | money, wool, Indian corn, barley, oats, rice, wheat. | |
| Feb. 1704/5 | £500 in "current money of New England in pay in like species as the last £700 rate." | "for defraying the Collony's debts." | See "Amount." |
| June 1705 | £500, same as last | Same as last | Same as last. |
| Aug. 1705 | £1000, same as last | £300 for agent; remainder not specified. | Same as last. |
| May 1706 | £700 | £400 for fort £100 for magazine, £200 for debts. | Same as last. |
| July 1706 | £300 | Same as last. | |
| Feb. 1706/7 | £500 | £400 for the expenses of a cruise, £100 for debts. | |
| May 1707 | £1500 | ||
| Feb. 1707/8 | £500 | ||
| Aug. 1708 | £800 "in money, or specie answerable at the usual rates." | £100 for colony house, £100 for agent, remainder for debts and general expenses. | Indian corn, barley, rye, oats, wool, wheat. |
| March 1708/9 | £500 Same as last. | Same as last. | |
| May 1709 | £1000, same as last. | Same as last. | |
| Aug. 1709 | £1000 | for debts. | |
| Feb. 1709/10 | £1200 | same as last. |
There were two wars against the French during this period; "King William's War" from 1689-1697, and "Queen Anne's War" from 1702-1713. In the first Rhode Island took little part. She sent no men to aid the other colonies but confined herself to strengthening her own defences and repelling the French privateers which occasionally appeared in her waters, particularly off Block Island. The same is true of the early years of the Second War, although in this case the danger was greater and really considerable amounts were expended in putting the colony in a condition of defence, especially in strengthening and supplying the fort at Newport. A regular garrison was maintained at Block Island. The colony took part in the expedition against Port Royal in 1707, and in 1709 sent to Boston and maintained for five months two hundred men to assist in the proposed expedition against Canada which did not take place. The useless expenditure necessitated by this failure fell heavily on the colony and when, in the following year, one hundred and fifty-five men were sent to take part in the expedition against Port Royal bills of credit were issued to meet the expense.
During the earlier years expenses did not increase much and seem to have been principally for the completion of the colony house, begun under Andros, and for the expedition to repel the French from Block Island.[[77]] Beginning with 1695 there is a change. The payment of public officers becomes a considerable charge. The expenses of the Agent increase. Then comes the war expenditure, at first the maintenance of the fort and the Block Island garrison and then the expeditions against Canada.[[78]]
The receipts are now almost entirely from taxes, other sources having become comparatively insignificant with the increasing revenue. The burden of taxation showed a constant tendency to increase. The average annual tax from July 1695 to February 1709-10 was about £1000, from August 1698 to the same date over £1200, from January 1703-4 nearly £1900, from May 1706 £2300, from February 1707-8 £2500, and during the last year £3700 was raised. A census of the colony in December 1708 showed a total population of 7181 of whom 482 were servants, black and white.[[79]] This would show a great increase in the per capita taxation over the earlier period. During the last year the per capita rate was over half a pound. The taxes collected during this single year amounted to as much or more than all the taxes collected during the first forty years of the colonial government. There is no doubt that the burden was a heavy one and, following the example of others, the colony sought relief in issues of paper money. With the adoption of this new source of revenue colonial taxation practically ceased and was revived only under the pressure of another and greater war thirty-five years later.
The law and administration.
With higher taxes the necessity of a system of taxation just and at the same time capable of strict enforcement, was more strongly felt. We consequently find from the very beginning of the period a great increase of legislation on the subject, so that by January 1703-4 there was placed on the statute book a body of law which contains the substance of our law today, and to which little was added, until, within recent years, the rapidly growing complexity of our industrial life has necessitated[[80]] more careful and detailed enactments.
In the case of the very first tax after the Restoration Warwick complained of overrating, and the Assembly finding "that the manner of rating of towns by guess is no suitable nor certain rule, but may prove very prejudicial; x x determine that for the future, all rates that shall be made in the Collony, shall be made according to so much on the pound as the estates of persons are valued at."[[81]]