the money was lent; This is certainly the case as to all private affairs, and I cannot think but that the case is the same with respect to public transactions. I do not know, but that some gentlemen in this House may be offended at my so much as mentioning the reign of king James II. yet upon the present occasion I must mention it; and the observation I shall make is, that that unfortunate prince took many wrong steps, ran himself into great difficulties, and at last lost his crown, by following too implicitly the wicked councils of a bad minister; and that very minister most basely betrayed, and at last deserted his master. One of the greatest misfortunes of that prince, and that which contributed most to his overthrow, was his keeping up a standing army in time of peace; he did it, indeed without the consent of parliament, but he did it at his own expence; he dia it without laying any charge upon the people; and he did it without consent of parliament, because he could not find a parliament inercenary and corrupt enough to give their consent. Then sir Robert Walpole and lord Tyrconnel spoke in favour of the Resolution; and Mr. Wyndham against it. At last the question being put, it was carried to agree with the Committee, without any division; After which the question was put upon the second Resolution, and agreed to without opposition. Debate in the Commons concerning a Call of the House, in expectation of the Excise Scheme being brought in.] Feb. 27. The order of the day for the call of the House was read, and a motion being made for adjourning it till that day fortnight, I do not rise up to oppose putting off the call of the House till this day fortnight; that I shall easily agree to; but there being, as I imagine, a certain Scheme or Project to be brought into this House, which seenis to be of very great cousequence to the whole nation, I wish that the call of the House may be appointed to be about the time, when that scheme is to be laid before us. For my part, I know nothing about it, I cannot tell when we are to have the pleasure of seeing that famous project; but I wish that some gentleman, who knows more of it than I do, would get up and fix a day when he thinks it will be brought in, and then move that the call of the House may be put off till that day, or till some day about that time. We have been long in expectation of seeing this glorious scheme, which is to render us all completely happy; we have waited for it with impatience ever since the beginning of this session of parliament; we imagined, as had been insinuated to us in the preceding session, that it was to come in lieu of the one shilling in the pound Land-Tax, as a supply for the current service of the year; but in this we are disappointed; that measure has, it seems, been altered, and we have seen this ease as to the Land Tax otherways supplied. I do not know whether the Scheme itself has lately met with any alterations or amendments, but I hope, if it be to be laid before us this session, that it will not be put off till towards the end of the session, when gentlemen are tired out with attendance, and obliged to return home to mind their own private affairs. If a scheme of that The following is Mr. Coxe's Account of ther we have the same quantity of pernicious this Scheme: "I am now arrived at that important period in the life of sir Robert Walpole, which relates to what is usually called the Excise Scheme, or in other words, the plan for subjecting the duties on Wine and Tobacco to the laws of Excise; a measure which raised a great ferment in the nation, because it was perverted by the malignant spirit of party, and was not thoroughly understood by sober and impartial persons; but which reason, and the disinterested voice of posterity has sanctioned and justified. taxes, and monopolizing patents, as we had 'formerly. If we have not, it is our business to be thankful for the deliverance we have received, and to unite our endeavours to be freed 'from the remainder. This is real patriotism and public spirit. 'One of the great merits of sir Robert Walpole, and in which perhaps no-minister ever approached him, was that of simplifying the taxes, abolishing the numerous petty compli'cated imposts which checked commerce and vexed the fair trader, and substituting in their 'stead more equal and simple. 'But to omit matters of lesser note, the wisest proposal to relieve the nation was the Excise Scheme, by means of which the whole island would have been one general Free Port, and a magazine and common storehouse for all nations. "On this subject, a judicious writer, [Tucker's Elements of Commerce and Theory of Taxes, p. 148, a book printed but not published,] who well understood the principles of commerce, has observed, without entering into a defence of all parts of his conduct, I am persuaded that impartial posterity will do It was not indeed a perfect scheme at its him the justice to acknowledge, that if ever a first appearance; but the foundation was statesman deserved well of the British nation," good, and a few alterations would have ren'sir Robert Walpole was the man. Indeed, dered it a most useful institution for the pur'the only true way of discovering, whether we 'poses of national commerce. But the busiare advancing or retreating in our politicalness of those times was not to alter, mend, or and commercial capacity, is to compare the improve, but to oppose, and to raise a ferpast with the present, and to examine whe-ment. But even in its most imperfect state RI consequence be at all brought in, it certainly ought to be brought in when the House is full, that it may be considered, and approved or rejected, by as many members as can possibly ali it would have defeated the views of monopolists, and have proved of great national advantage. If the bill had been so worded as to be only permissive, not compulsory, every man in the kingdom would have made the Excise Scheme his own choice, that is, he would have preferred the method of putting his goods in a warehouse, and paying the 'duties as he wanted them, rather than paying the duties all at once at the custom-house. As a proof of this, let it be observed, that the very men who made the loudest clamour against the Excise Scheme, in a few years pe'titioned for a much worse, the present law 'relating to tobacco; which is allowed on all hands to be an excise scheme in effect, and to have inconveniences, which the Excise 'Scheme had not. But to give some salvo to 'the matter, the word Permit is changed to that of Certificate.' "Either the Excise Scheme was not such as it is here explained, or the opposition to it was founded on principles of error, misrepresentation, and party. Let me then be permitted to consider by what means the nation in general was induced to give such a decided resistance to the bill, and to make as public and as loud rejoicings when it was relinquished, as upon the most glorious national victory ever gained over our enemies in times of the greatest danger. "In attempting to develope these causes, it may be expedient to trace the History of the Excise from its first introduction into England, until the opening of Walpole's scheme. "The first attempt to impose it was made in 1626, by a commission under the great seal, issued to thirty-three lords and others of the privy council, but the parliament having reinonstrated, it was judged by both Houses contrary to law, and the commission accordingly cancelled by the King. So odious was the very name, that if we may credit Howel, sir Dudley Carleton, then secretary of state, baving only named it in the House of Commons, with a view to shew the happiness which the people of England enjoyed above other nations, in being exempted from that imposition, was suddenly interrupted, called to the bar, and nearly sent to the Tower. During the civil wars in 1641, parliament ventured to impose an excise on beer, ale, cyder, and perry; but although they pleaded absolute necessity in excuse for this expedient, and continued it only from month to month; yet the execution of it raised riots in London. The populace burnt down the Excise House in Smithfield, and nothing but a standing army, adds the Craftsman, would have forced it upon the people at that time, when they were greatly disaffected to the king and favourable to the parliament. be brought together. As soon as the time for its being brought in shall be fixed, and the call of the House accordingly appointed, then I shall take the liberty to move for letters to Although Charles the First, in one of his declarations, charged parliament with imposing' insupportable taxes and odious excises upon their fellow subjects; yet he was afterwards under the necessity of recurring to the same expedient. Accordingly, excises were laid on by both parties, though both of them declared that they should be continued only till the end of the war, and then abolished. "Soon afterwards the parliament imposed it on sugar, butcher's meat, and on so many other commodities, that it might justly be called general, in pursuance of a plan laid down by Pymm, in a letter. to sir John Hotham; That 'they had proceeded to the excise in many particulars, and intended to go farther; but that 'it would be necessary to use the people to it by little and little.' "At the Restoration, the Excise was abolished on all articles of consumption, except beer and ale, cyder and perry, which produced a clear revenue, according to Davenant, of 666,3831. These duties were divided into two equal portions; the hereditary Excise, because granted to the crown for ever, in recompence for the court of wards, purveyance, and the levies abolished by act of parliament; the other the temporary Excise, because granted only for the life of the king. "On the accession of James the Second, parliament not only renewed the temporary Excise on his life, but also increased it by additional duties on wines, vinegar, tobacco, and sugar, which however were suffered to expire. "The immediate effects of the revolution were to diminish the excises, supposed to be of a nature peculiarly obnoxious to the spirit and principles of the constitution. But the necessity of raising money to defend our religion and liberties became so urgent, that even this species of imposition was adopted. Excise on salt, on the distillery, and on malt, since known by the name of the malt tax, were then first introduced; an additional excise on beer produced alone 450,000l. and the sums raised by those duties during the reign of William, amounted to 13,649,3281. or nearly a million per annum. "But so great were the necessities which the war on the Spanish succession intailed on the nation, during the reign of queen Anne, that the aversion to the excise did not prevent additional duties on several articles of consumption, and it produced in her reign 20,859,3111. or nearly 1,758,2757. per annum. "During the whole reign of George the First, no excise was laid on, except a small duty on wrought plate, under the administration of Sunderland. But the internal tranquillity of the country, and the exemption from foreign war, increasing the produce of the taxes, the excise yielded, in 13 years, 30,421,4511. or about the sheriffs, as have been often practised on the like occasions. Hereupon Sir Robert Walpole stood up and spoke as follows: 2,340,000l. per annum. Its unpopularity however was not abated by long usage, and the laws for the collection were necessarily so severe, and so often exercised in preventing frauds and punishing smugglers, that they were considered by many persons as encroaching on private property and personal liberty. "Such were the prejudices conceived against the excise, that the principal writers on finance, government and trade, from the revolution to the period under consideration, almost uniformly condemn it; and a plausible notion prevailed, that as the real income of every country originates from the land, all taxes should be at once imposed on landed property. "Even Davenant, who well understood the nature of taxes in general, and has so ably written on public credit, was deceived in this particular. Because at that time the excise had the effect of sinking the price of the subject excised instead of raising the price of the produce, he concluded that all excises fall ultimately upon the land, and proposed as more equitable, the poll tax and land tax. "The authority of Locke also contributed to spread the same notion, and his opinion against the establishment of the excise, was quoted with due effect by the Craftsman. That great philosopher, whose writings tended so much to expand and enlighten the human mind, had without due consideration asserted, that all impositions on articles of consumption fell ultimately upon land. The natural consequence therefore of that position was, that any additional duties on wine and tobacco could notultimately ease the landholder, and therefore could not fulfill the intention held forth to the country gentlemen, as an argument in favour of the Bill. "This system, though exploded by a more intelligent age, had surprising influence on all ranks and descriptions of men at that time, when the principles of commerce and taxation were little understood and less followed. The opposition laid great stress on this argument; and in conformity to the existing opinion, sir William Wyndham did not scruple to declare itas demonstrable as any proposition in Euclid, that if we actually paid a land tax of 10s. in the pound, without paying any other excises or duties, our liberties would be much more secure, and every landed gentleman might live at least in as much plenty, and might make a better provision for his family, than under the present mode of taxation. Sir; As to the Scheme mentioned by the honourable gentleman who spoke last, it is cer tain that I have a Scheme which I intend very soon to lay before you. I am resolved very ing taxes in use, was more burthensome upon trade, and more expensive to the merchants, than the raising of them by excise, and that it would be more beneficial to commerce, and would considerably increase the revenue, if all, or the greater part of the customs were converted into excises. But as he well knew the aversion which the nation entertained against the excise, and as he was unwilling to deviate from his own great principle of government, not to rouse things which are at rest, he proposed gradually to introduce his plan by abolishing the land tax, and substituting other methods, until he could venture to come forwards with the proposal of his great scheme for extending the excise. "With this view he made an alteration in the duties on coffee, tea, and chocolate by abolishing the import duties and subjecting them to inland duties, and to the same mode of collection as is practised in the excise. But as he still suffered them to be levied as customs, and prudently omitted to mention the word excise, this amendment net with no opposition, and increased the duties on tea, coffee, and chocolate about 120,000l. a year. "For the same purpose he proposed the revival of the salt duty, which had been abolished in 1729, because he conceived, that a revival of excise duties on commodities formerly subjected to that mode of collection would not be regard ed with so jealous an eye as a new impost in the same line. "But though he thus endeavoured to conceal his intended purpose, yet the opposition penetrated his scheme; in the debate which took place on that subject, they first threw down the gauntlet, and dwelt with unabated energy on the apprehensions of a general excise, as the war whoop to spread an alarm throughout the country, and as the death warrant of national liberty. It was then that, provoked by the petulance of his adversaries, and entertaining too great a contempt of their arguments, with more spirit than judgment, and with more attention to the dictates of truth, than to the temper of the times, he anticipated the intended mention of his extensive views, and laid down the great plan before it was sufficiently matured, and before the nation was able to consider and appre ciate its excellence. He unequivocally declared that the land tax was the most unequal, most grievous, and the most oppressive tax ever known in this country; a tax not to be raised but in times of the greatest necessity; and in answer "On the contrary the sagacity of Walpole to those who opposed the revival of the salt duled him to perceive, that a tax on landed pro- ties, because it was partly levied under the experty was a greater burthen to the subject than cise, he ventured to declare that an excise is taxes on articles of consumption. He was fully only a word for a tax levied in a different manaware that the excise laws obstruct the opera- ner. He added, If it be found by experience, tions of the smugglers more effectually than the that the present method of raising our taxes is laws of the customs; that the method of levy-more burthensome upon our trade, and more soon to make a motion, for this House to go into a Committee of the whole House on somebathing or another; I have not, indeed, as yet fully determined what my motion shall be, but inconvenient and expensive than the excise, I see no manner of reason why we should be frightened by these two words, 'general excise,' from changing the method of collecting 'the taxes we now pay, and choosing that which is most convenient for the trading part of the nation,' "This manly avowal of his sentiments in favour of the excise laws, was naturally deemed by opposition the prelude to his adoption of them, and magnified into a scheme for a general excise of all the necessaries of life. "Aware of having prematurely advanced notions which the age could not comprehend, a pamphlet was published on this subject, under his auspices, intitled, "Some general considera"tions concerning the alteration and improve66 ment of the revenues;" in which an attempt was made to inform the people, that the scheme was founded on the first principles of commerce and taxation, aud in no degree derogatory from the liberties of the subject. "But in this progressive plan he was baffled by opposition, who employed against him all the powers of wit and eloquence, which they possessed in so abundant a degree; and it must be confessed the scheme was not defended with equal energy and spirit. The nation took the alarm; and before the scheme was understood, even before it was formally proposed, the writers in opposition, more particularly the Craftsman, delineated such a hideous picture of the Excise, as raised among the people the most terrible apprehensions. These weekly essays, collected and published under the title of " Arguments against Excises," contributed to pervert the judgment, and excite the rage of the deluded multitude. Against the united shafts of sophistry, wit, and ridicule, adapted to the prejudices and conceptions of the people, the weapons of sober truth and reason had no effect. "The grand object of the bill was to give ease to the landed interest, by the total abolition of the land tax; to prevent frauds; to decrease smuggling; to augment the revenue; to simplify the taxes, and facilitate the collection of them at the least possible expence. "The great outlines of the plan were to convert the customs into duties of excise, and to mcliorate the laws of the excise, in such a manner, as to obviate their abuses or oppressions.. "Such were the object and general outlines of the plan. The specific propositions were, to divide the commodities into taxed and not taxed, and to confine the taxed commodities to a few articles of general consumption. To comprehend among the untaxed commodities, the principal necessaries of life, and all the raw materials of manufacture. The free importation of the necessaries of life would, by rendering I suppose it will be for this House to go into Committee on the State of the public revenue, or on the frauds committed in the collecting thereof, or on the frauds committed in some those necessaries cheaper, reduce the price of labour. The reduction of the price of labour would diminish the price of home manufactures, and increase thereby the demand in all foreign markets, by underselling those of other nations. The free importation of raw materials would reduce the price of manufactures, and the cheapness of the goods would secure both the home consumption, and a great command in the fo reign markets; and it was this regulation which induced Tucker to say, that by means of this scheme the whole island would become one general free port.. "So much for the commodities untaxed. But even the trade of the taxed commodities would be augmented, and both the foreign and home trade would enjoy considerable advantages. The foreign trade would be benefited, because the commodities delivered out of the warehousefor exportation, being exempted from all imposts, would be perfectly free; and the carrying trade, under these regulations, would be highly increased. The home trade would be benefited, because the importer, not being obliged to advance the duty, on the commodities delivered for interior consumption, untill be disposed of his goods, would afford to sell them cheaper, than if he had been obliged to advance the duty at the moment of impor tation. Such, according to the opinion of a very ju dicious writer [Smith's Wealth of Nations, vol. 3. p. 358,] was the object of the famous Excise Scheme. "Preparatory to its introduction, a committee had been appointed to inspect into the frauds and abuses committed in the customs; and on the 7th of June, 1732, sir John Cope, the chairman, presented their Report to the House. Though it was of, infinite importance, and of so great length as to comprise, when printed, 103 pages in folio; yet the committee were so sensible that they had not fully explored all the recesses of fraud, and had left great part of their task unaccomplished, that they accompanied this elaborate document with an apology for its imperfections, in which they observed, that the shortness of the session would not allow them to make it so complete as they might otherwise have done, and that the number and intricacy of the various frauds, rendered a thorough disquisition almost impracticable. In this report they adverted to the frauds committed by traders in tobacco, tea, brandy, and wine, and in the course of it displayed scenes of dishonesty, perjury, informing, violence, and murder, which would appear to sanction almost any measure, however violent, by which so horrible a stigma could be removed from the mercantile body, and from the fiscal laws of the country, It was proved by unde particular branch or branches of the revenue; it must be, I believe, a motion to some such purpose: If the call of the House be appointed for this day fortnight, I believe I shall be fully determined between this and that time, and so be able to move for some such Committee; the House may then appoint a day for going into the Committee moved for, that so every member may have notice to attend if he pleases. I do not desire, I never did desire to surprise this House into any thing, nor had, I thank God, ever any occasion to use the low art of taking advantage of the end of the session, for any thing I had to propose or would propose to this House; but when the House does resolve itself into some such Committee as I now mention, I will then lay before that Committee a Scheme which I have long thought of, which is, I am convinced, for the good of the nation, and which, if agreed to, will improve both the trade of the nation and the public revenue. I never had any intention to propose niable evidence, that by perjury, forgery, and the most impudent collusion, in the article of tobacco, the revenue was frequently defrauded to the amount of one third of the duties, and that in many cases, an allowance had been dishonestly obtained, as a drawback on re-exportation, exceeding the sum originally received by government, which in the port of London only,sustained by these means a loss of 100,000l. per annum. The smuggling of tea and brandy was conducted so openly and so audaciously, that since Christmas 1723, a period only of nine years, the number of custom house officers beaten and abused amounted to 250; and six had been murdered. 251,320 pounds weight of tea, and 652,924 gallons of brandy had been seized and condemned; and upwards of 2,000 persons prosecuted. 229 boats and other vessels had been condemned, 185 of which had been burnt, and the remainder retained for the service of the crown. The smuggling of wine was managed with so much art, or the connivance of the revenue officers so effectually secured, that within the period of nine years, only 2,208 hogsheads had been condemned, though it appeared, from depositions on oath, that in the space of two years, 4738 hogsheads had been run in Hainpshire, Dorsetshire, and Devonshire only, and on inquiry, 30 officers were dismissed, and informations entered against 400 persons; 38 were committed to jail, 118 admitted evidence, and 45 had compounded. "Notwithstanding the facts contained in this report, and the endeavours used to enlighten the public mind, the opposition had been so assiduous and successful in the dissemination of slander and suspicion, that they looked forward with impatience to the introduction of the minister's plan, as the certain means of triumph to them, and of disgrace to him: Indeed, considering the nature of the contest, they could hardly be thought too sanguine in their expectations of the event. The members of any ad it as a Supply for the current service of the year; I was always sensible that no such thing could be done; but if it be agreed to, and if upon a trial it be found to bring in any addition to the public revenue, this House may then dispose of that increase in the following session of parliament as they shall judge proper; till then it cannot be appropriated, be cause till then it cannot be known what the amount may be. When the amount of the increase of the revenue thereby is once ascertained, that increase may then be brought in aid of the one shilling in the pound Land-Tas, and thereby that ease may be continued to the poor land-holders for years to come, if so the future parliaments shall think fit. As for the Scheme's having received alterations and amendments, I do not know but it may; I never thought myself so wise as to stand in no need of assistance; on the contrary, I am always ready to receive advice and instruction from others, and I shall always be ready to add, to alter, or to amend any thing I have thought of, by the advice, and upon the ministration proposing measures for giving additional strength to government, for restraining the turbulent, or suppressing fraud, are open to every species of calumny, assailable by all the weapons of eloquence, wit, ridicule, personality, and misrepresentation; while in their de fence, they are restricted to the use of those topics which make their impression only by force of time and experience. The majesty of argumentative eloquence, and the glare of wit, are undervalued when eloquence is supposed to be biassed by interest, and wit is divested of personality and caustic satire, which alone can make it pleasing to the multitude. "The writers in the interest of opposition had sounded the trumpet of alarm from one end of the kingdom to the other: they asserted that the minister's plan would not tend to prevent fraud, decrease smuggling, or augment the reve nue; but would destroy the very being of Parliament, undermine the constitution, render the king absolute, and subject the houses, goods, and dealings of the subject to a state inquisition. They represented the excise as a nonster feeding on its own vitals; and compared it to the Trojan horse, which contained an army in its belly. "Having by these means agitated the public mind to a frenzy of opposition, the enemies of the minister were anxious to follow their advan tage, to urge him to bring forward his plan before the people had leisure for sober reflection. London, and many places in the country, bad given express instructions to their representatives, to oppose the excise scheme in all its forms, and to use every method to impede its progress; and the members were so anxious to shew that they had not been unmindful of these dictates, that they seized every opportunity, long before the measure was officially announced to the house, of adding to the impressions of horror already entertained against it." |