ible in this respect. The inspectors
were required to be on duty from October 1 to August 10 yearly, except
Sundays and holidays. By 1732 it was discovered that it was unnecessary
to have three inspectors on duty at all times. Consequently, the number
of regular inspectors was reduced to two, but a third was appointed to
be called upon when there was a dispute between the two regular
inspectors as to the quality of tobacco.

As the governor was able to choose the inspectors and place them at any
warehouse within the colony, the local county people began to complain
and demand that they be given more authority in this governmental
function. This procedure tended to provide the governor with the
opportunity to provide his friends with jobs regardless of their
qualifications. In 1738 the General Assembly enacted legislation
providing that the inspectors were to be appointed by the governor from
a slate of four candidates nominated by the local county courts. Where
two warehouses under one inspection were in different counties, two
candidates were to be nominated by each county. This procedure remained
unchanged until the middle of the nineteenth century.

The salaries of the inspectors were regulated by the General Assembly,
though the colony did not guarantee the sums after 1755. For the first
few years each inspector received L60 annually, and if the fees
collected were insufficient to pay their salary, the deficient amount
was made up out of public funds. After 1732 it was found that this
amount was too high and unequally allocated with respect to the amount
of individual services performed, as some warehouses received more
tobacco than others. So for the next few years salaries were determined
on the basis of the amount of tobacco inspected and ranged from L30 to
L50 annually. From 1755 to 1758 the inspectors received the amount set
by the legislature only if enough fees were collected by the inspectors
at their respective warehouses. During the next seven years the
inspectors received three shillings per hogshead, plus six pence for
nails used in recoopering the tobacco, instead of a stated salary. Out
of this the inspectors had to pay the proprietors of the warehouse
eight pence rent per hogshead. In 1765 the inspectors were again placed
on a flat salary basis, and for the next fifteen years their salaries
ranged from L25 to L70. After 1780 their annual salaries ranged from
about $100 at the smallest warehouses to a