Somers, the English traveler already quoted, pronounced this generous custom "outrageously absurd," for the Negroes had so many privileges that they refused to make use of their opportunities.

"The soul is often crushed out of labor by penury and oppression," he said, "but here a soul cannot begin to be infused into it through the sheer excess of privilege and license with which it is surrounded." The credit system which was developed beside the share system made a bad condition worse.

On the 1st of January, a planter could mortgage his future crop to a merchant or landlord in exchange for subsistence until the harvest.

Since, as a rule, neither tenant nor landlord had any surplus funds, the latter would be supplied by the banker or banker merchant, who would then dictate the crops to be planted and the time of sale.

As a result of these conditions, the planter or farmer was held to staple crops, high prices for necessities, high interest rate, and frequently unfair bookkeeping.