Imatges de pàgina
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1736.

Anno 9. Geo. 11. propriated to the Payment of feveral Annuities and other particular Ufes, and tho' that Produce might perhaps be lefs in Time to come than it had been for fome Years paft, yet they did not believe that by the Regulation made by that Bill, the Produce of those Duties would be so much reduced, as to be under what it was when thofe Appropriations were made; and if that fhould be the Cafe, any fmall Deficiency that might happen, might be provided for by next Seffion of Parliament, when the Amount of that Deficiency would be afcertained: But it being infifted on, That the future Produce of thofe Duties could not near answer the Ends to which it was appropriated, and that it was abfolutely neceffary for the Sake of publick Credit, to grant a new Fund to the Creditors of the Publick, by the fame Bill by which they took away or diminished their old, the Claufe was agreed to without a Division.

what Sum fhould

be granted to the King for fupplying fuch Deficiency as fhould happen ia the Civil Lift by

on Spirituous Liquors.

Then the next Claufe was read, as follows, And whereDebate concerning as the faid Duties upon Low Wines, Strong Waters, Brandy, Rum, Arrack, and all other Spirits whether Foreign or British, are amongst other Duties and Revenues charged with, and liable to pay feveral Sums of Money, as well altering the Duties for the Support of his Majefty's Houfhold and Family, and the Honour and Dignity of the Crown, as for Payment of Annuities and other Payments to several Corpo'rations, and to other Perfons intitled thereunto; and it may fo happen, that by making the Alterations aforefaid in the faid Duties, the Funds charged with the Payments 'aforefaid may prove deficient: And whereas by a Medium of eight Years, computed from the Time of his Majesty's happy Acceffion to the Throne to Midfummer laft past, ⚫ the Sum of is taken to be the Medium of ⚫ the annual Produce of what has been applied of the Duties aforefaid to the Service of his Majefty's Houfhold and Family: To the End therefore, that neither his Majefty, nor any other Perfon or Perfons, Bodies Politick or Corporate, who is or are intitled to any Part, Share, or Intereft, in the Money arifing by the said Duties, may be Lofers, or receive any Prejudice by the Alterations aforefaid, be it enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That from and after the faid 29th Day of September, 1736, there shall be paid to his Majefty during his natural Life, (which God long preferve) out of the Monies of the faid general or Aggregate Fund, the Sum of per Annum, being the aforefaid Medium of what has been annually applied of the Duties aforefaid, towards the Service of his Majesty's Houshold and Family, and other his Expences and Occafions, from his happy Acceffion to the Throne, to Midfummer last past.'

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After which a Motion was made by fome of the Members concerned in the drawing up of the Bill, to fill up the Blank with the Sum of 70,000l. that Sum, as they faid, being the Medium of what had been annually applied of the aforefaid Duties, towards the Civil Lift, from his Majefty's happy Acceffion to the Throne, to Midfummer laft paft: Whereupon the Members who opposed the former Claufe declared, that they were likewise against this whole Claufe, and that they would afterwards take the Liberty to give their Reasons; but as it was neceffary in Point of Form, to fill up the Blank before any Thing could be faid either for or against the Claufe, therefore they would propofe that the Blank fhould be filled up with the Sum of 43,000l. which being the leffer Sum, the Queftion was of Courfe to be firft put for filling up the Blank with this leffer Sum, and as this was oppofed by the Gentlemen who had proposed the Sum of 70,000 l. it brought on a long Debate, in which the chief Arguments in Favour of the leffer Sum were as follows:

Sir,

Anna 9. Geo. 11.
1736.

⚫ I am of Opinion that the Civil Lift cannot be any Lofer Argument for by diminishing the Confumption of fpirituous Liquors, be- only for that Parcaufe, whatever may be thereby loft to the Civil Lift, will pole. be much more than made good by the Increase of the Confumption of other Liquors, of the Duties upon which the Civil Litt has a much larger Share than it has of those Duties payable upon fpirituous Liquors; therefore whatever Sum this Blank may be filled up with, I must look upon every Shilling of it, not as a Compenfation, but as a new Addition to the Civil Lift Revenue, and fince I do not think that the Crown has Occafion for any new Addition to that Revenue, I must look upon this whole Sum as a real Lofs to the People: I must look upon the Whole, Sir, as a Sort of Purchafe Money we are to pay for the Bill now before us; and fince we must pay a Price for preferving the Health and Morals of the People, furely if we are good Merchants, if we are honest Trustees for the People, we should endeavour to bring down that Price as much as we can. But fuppofing, Sir, that the Lofs the Civil Lift may sustain by dininishing the Confumption of fpirituous Liquors, were not to be made good by the Increase which that Diminution will naturally produce in fome of the other Branches of that Revenue; the yearly Sum to be given to the Civil List in Lieu of that Lofs, ought not to be calculated from a Medium of eight Years after his Majefty's happy Acceffion to the Throne, but from a Medium of eight Years immediately preceding his Majefty's happy Acceffion to the Throne; for when the Parliament, which eftablished the

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1736.

Anno 9. Geo. II. prefent Civil Lift, were confidering what Duties wouldbe fufficient for raifing that Revenue, which they though: was neceffary for fupporting his Majefty's Houfhold and Family, they could not have under their Confideration the Produce of thofe Duties in time to come; and much less could they have under their Confideration an Increase which might arife by an Abufe, fo as to put it out of the Power of Parliament to rectify that Abufe, without making good to the Civil Lift the increased Revenue it had acquired by that Abuse They could have nothing under their Confideration but the Produce of thofe Duties for Years paft, and for this Reafon the Claufe, now before us, ought to have been drawn up in a quite different Manner from what it is; or at leaft it ought to have been left to the Committee to determine, whether they would take the eight Years before, or the eight Years after his Majefty's Acceffion; in which Cafe it ought to have been in these Terms: And whereas by a Medium of Years computed from to the is taken to be the Medium of the annual Produce of that Part of the Duties aforefaid, appropriated to the Service of his Majefty's Houfhold and Family.'

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This, Sir, was, in my Opinion, the only proper and regular Method in which this Claufe could have been brought in If it had been brought in according to this Method, the Committee, where only it is proper to determine fuch Things, would have been left at full Liberty to chufe the Medium of any Number of Years after, or the Medium of any Number of Years before his Majefty's Acceffion; and if we had chofe the Medium of eight Years before his Majefty's Acceffion, which we certainly ought to have done, the Medium would not have amounted to the Sum now under our Confideration; because the Abuse with refpect to the Confumption of home-made Spirits was not near fo great in the eight Years preceding his Majefty's Acceffion, as it has been in the eight Years fince; and every one knows how greatly the Produce of the Duties upon foreign Spirits increased after that miraculous Tide which opened the Port of Dunkirk, and which brought in upon us an Inundation of French Brandies under the Name of Flemish; infomuch that in the Year 1723, which was the Year after that prodigious Tide, and but two Years after a very remark able Change in our Administration, the Duties on foreign Brandies and Spirits amounted to above 70,000l. whereas in the Year 1721, they did not amount to 25,000l. and we likewife know, that, fince his Majefty's Acceffion, this Inundation has rather increased than diminished.

But again, Sir, fuppofing we were to take this Matter

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1736.

in the beft Light we can for the Crown, and in the worst Anno 9. Geo. II. Light for the People: Suppofing thatwe ought to calculate the Lofs which the Civil Lift may fuftain, by diminishing the Confumption of fpirituous Liquors, from a Medium of eight Years to be computed from the Time of his Majesty's happy Acceffion to the Throne to Midfummer laft; yet furely the extraordinary Increase that happened in the Duties upon foreign Brandies and Spirits in the Year 1733, ought not to be brought into that Calculation; for in that Year, we may remember we reaffumed our Defire to encourage our own Diftillery, and for that Reason French Brandies being wanted, as was pretended, to mix up with and rectify our own Spirits, as well as for the Love and Efteem we bore the French, a Law was paffed, for lowering the Duties upon French Brandies, and for making all foreign Brandies pay an equal Duty with them: This of courfe gave the Alarm to our old Friends at Dunkirk, who forefaw that they could no longer import French Brandies upon us under the Name of Flemish, and therefore, before that Act took Place, they brought in fuch large Quantities of Brandy, that the Duties on foreign Brandies and Spirits, for that Year only amounted to near 318,000l. which was near 200,000 1. more than was ufual in any one Year; yet this extraordinary and cafual Produce feems now intended to be brought in, for magnifying the Lofs which the Civil Lift may fuftain by diminishing the Confumption of fpirituous Liquors, and for increafing the Sum, with which the People are to be loaded for making good that pretended Lofs. I fay pretended Lofs, Sir, because I am convinced the whole will appear to be fo, and therefore I am now for filling up the Blank with the fmallest Sum I have here proposed; but when the Queftion comes to be put upon the Claufe in general, I fhall give my Negative to the Whole, and for that Reafon I fhall give myfelf very little Concern about the Sum with which it is now to be filled up.'

To this it was anfwered as follows, viz.

Sir,

on that Acconat.

I fhall not take up your Time with endeavouring to Argument for fhew, that the Lofs which the Crown may fuftain, by leffen- granting 70,000, ing the Confumption of fpirituous Liquors, cannot be made good by the Increase that muft thereby be occafioned in the Confumption of other Liquors; becaufe I do not take it to be the Question now before us: It is evident from the Accounts upon our Table, that his Majefty's Share of the Duties upon fpirituous Liquors has for thefe eight Years laft paft amounted yearly to about 70,000 1. one Year with anc.. ther, therefore if the whole of thefe Duties be for the futare appropriated and made payable to the Aggregate Fund,

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it is evident, and I think admitted on both Sides, that his Majefty will by fuch Appropriations lofe a yearly Revenue of 70,000l. which he has enjoyed ever fince his happy Acceffion to the Throne; and that that Lofs ought to be made good to his Majefty is a Question that feems to me to have been already determined by this Houfe, when we agreed to thofe Refolutions upon which this Bill was founded: Therefore the only Queftion now before us, is, to determine how much his Majetty will really lofe, in order that the fame may be for the future made good to his Majesty, out of that Fund to which we have already appropriated thofe Duties, which formerly belonged to his Majefty's Civil Lift. This, in my Opinion, is no more than doing that Juftice to his Majefty, which every man in a private Capapicity would in fuch a Cafe moft reasonably expect from another: If I furrender a Part of my Eftate to my Neighbour for his Conveniency, it is but reasonable he should make good to me the Damage I may fuftain by fuch Surrender. Whether the Lofs his Majefty will moft certainly fuftain, by taking from him thofe Duties which formerly belonged to him, may be made good by the Increase of fome of the other Duties appropriated to the Civil Lift, is a Question of a different Nature: I am certain it cannot now be determined whether there be any fuch Increase or not; and if any fuch Increase should hereafter appear, then it will be Time enough to determine how that Increase ought to be disposed of.

Now, Sir, with Refpect to the Lofs his Majefty may fuftain, and the Method by which the Quantum of that Lofs is to be determined, it seems a little odd to me, that, in order to put a Value upon a Lofs which his Majefty muft fuftain, by taking from him a Revenue which he has enjoyed, Gentlemen fhould propofe to put a Value upon that Lofs, by computing the Produce of a Revenue which his Majefty never enjoyed: This Method of Computation appears to me fo very extraordinary, that I think I need only put it in its true Light, in order to fhew that it is a Method we ought not to take. But it is faid that when the Par liament, which established the prefent Civil Lift Revenue, were confidering what Duties would be fufficient for raifing the Revenue, which they thought was neceffary for fupporting his Majesty's Houshold and Family, they could not have under their Confideration the Produce of thofe Duties in Time to come. In this, Sir, I happen to be of a very dif ferent Opinion; for as they were confidering what Duties would be fufficient to raise a future Revenue, I think they could confider only a future Produce'; and the Method in which that Revenue was established fhews, that they had

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