Thirty residents of Duplin County "consider themselves aggrieved in consequence of the very many impositions by persons availing themselves of the Law, relating to retailers of Spiritous liquors." They assert that the "great defect in the Law" is "a very fruitful source of evil" whereby "not only freemen but the Slaves of our County are likely to be corrupted." Of the belief that "many of the Families of our Citizens have been reduced to poverty & want by the frequency of County Grog or retail shops," the petitioners therefore propose "the propriety of your passing a Law (for the County of Duplin (at least)" requiring that retailers of "ardent spirits" obtain licenses and that "every person who obtains a License to sell ardent spirits" should pay a tax, based on the quantity sold.
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Repository: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina
