The commonalty up to that time were burdened with no other local taxes than the before mentioned excise, unless the voluntary gift which was employed two years since for the continuation of the building of the church, be considered a tax, of which Jacob Couwenhoven,(1) who is one of the churchwardens, will be able to give an account.
(1) Couwenhoven, it will be remembered, was one of the
delegates from the commonalty then in Holland.
In New England there are no taxes or duties imposed upon goods exported or imported; but every person's wealth is there appraised by the government, and he must pay for the following, according to his wealth and the assessment by the magistrates: for the building and repairing of churches, and the support of the ministers; for the building of schoolhouses, and the support of schoolmasters; for all city and village improvements, and the making and keeping in repair all public roads and paths, which are there made many miles into the country, so that they can be used by horses and carriages, and journeys made from one place to another; for constructing and keeping up all bridges over the rivers at the crossings; for the building of inns for travellers, and for the maintenance of governors, magistrates, marshals and officers of justice, and of majors, captains and other officers of the militia.
In every province of New England there is quarterly a general assembly of all the magistrates of such province;(1) and there is yearly a general convention of all the provinces, each of which sends one deputy with his suite, which convention lasts a long time. All their travelling expenses, board and compensation are there raised from the people. The poor-rates are an additional charge.
(1) A loose statement, only so far correct, that each New
England colony had several sessions of its magistrates each
year, sometimes monthly sessions, while their legislative
assemblies ("general courts") were commonly held more than
once a year. Van Tienhoven's general contention is correct,
that government in New England was far more elaborate and
expensive than in New Netherland; but New England had in
1650 a population of about 30,000, New Netherland hardly
more than 3,000. The annual meeting mentioned in the next
sentence is that of the Commissioners of the United
Colonies, in which, however, each colony was represented by
two deputies, not one.
The accounts will show what was the amount of recognitions collected annually in Kieft's time; but it will not appear that it was as large by far as they say the people were compelled to pay. This is not the Company's fault, nor the Directors', but of those who charge one, two and three hundred per cent. profit, which the people are compelled to pay because there are few tradesmen.
It will not appear, either now or in the future, that 30,000 guilders were collected from the commonalty in Stuyvesant's time; for nothing is received besides the beer and wine excise, which amounts to about 4,000 guilders a year on the Manhatans. From the other villages situated around it there is little or nothing collected, because there are no tapsters, except one at the Ferry,(1) and one at Flushing.
(1) The hamlet on the East River opposite Manhattan; the
village of Bruekelen stood a mile east of the river.
If anything has been confiscated, it did not belong to the commonalty, but was contraband goods imported from abroad; and nobody's goods are confiscated without good cause.
The question is whether the Honorable Company or the Directors are bound to construct any works for the commonalty out of the recognition which the trader pays in New Netherland for goods exported, especially as those duties were allowed to the Company by Their High Mightinesses for the establishment of garrisons, and the expenses which they must thereby incur, and not for the construction of poor-houses, orphan asylums, or even churches and school-houses, for the commonalty.