Conceived in Liberty Volume 2 - Ludwig von Mises Institute

The Walpoles were willing to appease the powerful West Indies planters by
passing the Molasses Act. But they were not willing to wreck the colonial
economy by enforcing it—a typically charming Walpole compromise.
In 1739, the British Sugar Act threw another bone to the planters for
their disappointment at the failure to enforce the Molasses Act: the planters
were now allowed to ship their sugar directly to southern Europe, without
going through English ports. In all sugar sales to Europe, the planters were
freed from paying English duties. This concession was gained over the
fierce protest of the planters' erstwhile ally, the United Company of Grocers
and Sugar Bakers, which wanted to continue forcing the planters to sell their
sugar to it. Three years later, the planters gained another wise concession:
permission to carry sugar in non-British-built ships. This gain was made
over the expected bitter complaints of the English shipbuilding industry.
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