An Act to repeal the Tax on the Manumission of Slaves.

PREAMBLE —Whereas it has become expedient to repeal the tax hitherto imposed and made payable in the public Treasury on the manumission of Slaves, We therefore, your Majesty’s most dutiful, loyal and obedient sub­jects, the Governor, Council, and Assembly of this your island of Dominica, do humbly pray your Most Excellent Majesty that it may be enacted and ordained.

CLAUSE 1st.—And be it, and it is hereby enacted and ordained by the autho-[39]rity aforesaid, that from and immediately after the passing of this Act, the tax of sixteen pounds ten shillings current money, and of thirty-three pounds current money, respectively, made payable and imposed on the manumission of Slaves, under and by virtue of an Act of this island, passed on the 15th day of June 1810, intituled “An Act to regulate the Manumission of Slaves in this Island, and to impose a tax upon all free and manumitted persons coming to this Island,” shall be, and the said tax is hereby declared to be repealed, and the Register is hereby authorized to receive into his office, and to record therein all manumissions (the same being first duly executed as is hereinafter required) without any receipt of the Treasurer being attached thereto, any thing contained in the above recited Act passed the 15th day of June 1810, in any wise to the contrary notwithstanding; and all and every matter con­tained in the said Act respecting the said tax of sixteen pounds ten shillings, and of thirty-three pounds respectively, is hereby repealed and declared null and void: provided always, that every person or persons intending to manumit any Slave, shall previously make oath that such Slave hath been duly regis­tered in conformity to the Act of the Legislature passed on the 20th day of March 1817, intituled “An Act for registering Slaves in this Island,” which oath any of the Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of the said island, the Register or Deputy Register are hereby authorized and empowered to admi­nister, and for administering the same, they shall be entitled to receive from the party making such affidavit the sum of six shillings current money, which affidavit shall be annexed to the said deed of manumission, and be recorded therewith, and all Slaves so manumitted shall be, and are hereby declared to be entitled to, and shall enjoy all the privileges of free persons of colour in this island, from the day of such deed of manumission (so duly executed, proved and attested) being lodged in the Register’s office, any thing contained in the said Act passed the 15th day of June 1810, or in any other Act of this island, in any wise to the contrary notwithstanding.

PREAMBLE.—And in order to prevent fraudulent manumissions, or the undue manumission of diseased and unprofitable Slaves.

CLAUSE 2d.—Be it, and it is hereby enacted and ordained by the authority aforesaid, that before any deed of manumission of any Slave or Slaves, as before-mentioned, shall be recorded, or received to be re­corded in the Register’s office of this island, as is required by the pre­ceding clause, the owner or owners, their attorneys, executors, or administra­tors, intending to manumit such Slave or Slaves, shall give fourteen days no­tice of such intention by setting and publishing, on a paper or board to be kept in a conspicuous place in the Register’s office for that purpose, the name of such Slave to be manumitted, and shall personally appear before any one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, or the Register or Deputy Re­gister, and make oath that he, she, or they, hath or have not executed such deed or deeds of manumission for the purpose of defrauding or injuring any person or persons whatsoever, either directly or indirectly, or to relieve him­self or herself from the burthen of maintaining an unprofitable Slave or Slaves; and the Slave or Slaves so intended to be manumitted shall also he brought and appear before such Judge, Register, or Deputy Register, and the person or persons so executing such deed of manumission shall make oath that such Slave or Slaves is or are the identical person or persons alluded to, and the Slave or Slaves so appearing shall be required to state whether he, she, or they, is or are willing to be released from bondage, and the Judge, Register, or Deputy Register, before whom such declaration of the said Slave or Slaves shall be made, as aforesaid, shall endorse or affix a certificate thereof on the deed or deeds of manumission to the end that the same may be recorded there­with in the Register’s office in this island, as is required by the 1st clause of this Act.

PREAMBLE.—And whereas there are many persons in this island who are entitled to freedom, and who, though they have been absolved from all servitude and slavery, have, nevertheless, from their inability to pay the tax here-[40]tofore imposed on the manumission of Slaves, been prevented recording their manumissions.

CLAUSE 3d.—Be it therefore enacted and ordained by the authority afore­said, that all such persons so entitled to freedom as aforesaid, and who may have been so entitled previous or subsequent to the passing of the said Act for registering Slaves hereinbefore mentioned, and who may not in consequence have been registered as Slaves under the terms of such Act, shall, to all in­tents and purposes, be entitled to have their manumissions recorded without the payment of any tax whatever, in the same manner as is hereinbefore men­tioned and declared by the first clause of this Act, and without the necessity of any oath being previously made as to the fact of such person having been duly registered, as is required by that clause.

CLAUSE 4th.—And be it, and it is hereby enacted and ordained by the authority aforesaid, that any person taking any oath by this Act required, who shall swear falsely, shall be deemed, and is declared guilty of perjury; and on being convicted thereof before the Court of King’s Bench and Grand Sessions of the Peace, shall suffer such punishment as the Court may award.

CLAUSE 5th.—And be it, and it is hereby enacted and ordained by the authority aforesaid, that this Act shall not operate or be construed to be in force until His Majesty shall be graciously pleased to signify his Royal Assent to the same.

(Signed)         WILLIAM ANDERSON, Speaker.

Passed the House of Assembly this 9th day of November 1825. 

(Signed)      J. H. NEWMAN, Clerk of Assembly.

Passed the Board of Council this 10th day of November 1825. 

(Signed) HENRY TREW, Clerk of Council.

Passed the Patent Office this 10th day of November 1825.

(Signed)         S. A. PERRY, Clerk of Patents.

Assented to this 10th day of November 1825.

(Signed)         WILLIAM NICOLAY, Governor.