1736.

to the Value of 501. a Year, fo that upon the whole he Anno 9. Geo. 11. will be a Gainer to the Amount of 30 1. a Year. In this Cafe I muft afk every Country-Gentleman that hears me, if my Neighbour ought, in Prudence, to prevent my making that Cut or Water-drain through his Eftate at my own Expence; or if he could either in Juftice or Honour pretend, that I ought to give him 201. a Year out of my Estate, in Compenfation for the 201. a Year, he pretends he is to lose, by making the Cut or Water-drain through his Eftate? I believe no Gentleman will fay he could in Prudence refuse the one, or in Juftice infift upon the other: Yet, in this Cafe, the Compensation he receives for the Right I take away from him, arifes from a Right I do not give, a Right he was intitled to before I took the other from him.

Having now, I think, Sir, demonstrated, that, if the Lofs the Civil Lift may fuftain by the prefent Regulation, be made good by the Increase in the Excife on Beer and Ale occafioned by the prefent Regulation, we are neither in Juftice nor Honour obliged to give any other Compenfation. I may give up the other Queftion, and admit, that we are obliged to grant a Compenfation, in cafe the Lofs is not made good by the Increase of the Excife on Beer and Ale, because, notwithstanding what the honourable Gentleman has faid, I am still of Opinion, that it is not only probable, but apparent, that the Lofs in one Way will be fufficiently made good by the Advantage in the other. The very Nature of the Thing is to me a fufficient Proof; for granting, that the greatest Part of the prefent Amount of the Excise proceeds from the Debauches and Extravagancies of the People, it is well known, that those who once get into the Way of committing Debauches in Gin, can have no Relish even for the strongest Malt Liquors; and I am convinced there are very few Inftances, if any, that ever a Club of exceffive Gin-drinkers went from a Gin-fhop, to finish their Debauch at an Ale-house; because even to quench their Thirst they generally take small Beer or Water, and mix it up with Gin; and many of them continue at the Gin-fhop till they cannot find the Way to an Ale-house, or even to their own Beds, if they have any, but content themfelves with the clean Straw, which at fome of thofe Places they have for nothing: So that even from the Nature of the Thing we muft conclude, that those who have once taken to the exceffive drinking of Gin, give over almost entirely drinking of Beer or Ale; and if we can lay thofe People under a Neceffity of returning to the drinking of ftrong Beer or Ale, we must neceffarily very much increafe the Confumption.

By

Anno 9. Geo. II. 1736.

By the Report, Sir, of his Majefty's Juftices of the Peace at Hick's-hall in the Month of January laft, we find, there were then within Westminster, Holborn, the Tower, and Finsbury Divifion (exclufive of London and Southwark) 7044 Houfes and Shops, wherein Geneva and other Spirituous Liquors were publickly fold by Retail, of which they had got an Account, and that they believed it was very far fhort of the true Number: From hence, Sir, if we include London, Southwark, and the other Places within the Bills of Mortality, I may modeftly compute there are 20,000 Houfes and Shops within the Bills of Mortality, where Geneva and other Spirituous Liquors are fold by Retail; and tho' the People within the Bills of Mortality are computed to be but a fifth, or a fixth Part of the People of England, yet I fhall reckon but 20,000 Houses and Shops in all the other Parts of England, where Spirituous Liquors are fold by Retail, the Whole being 40,000. Now to each of thefe Houfes I fhall allow but ten Cuftomers, who are exceffive Drinkers of Gin, fuch I call those who may drink about half a Pint a Day, one Day with another; and ten Customers who are moderate Drinkers of that Liquor, fuch I call those who do not drink above half a Quartern a Day, one Day with another. This makes in England 400,000 exceffive Drinkers, and 400,000 moderate Drinkers of Spirituous Liquors; and confidering how univerfally the Cuftom of drinking fuch Liquors has got in among the common People, Men, Women and Children, I believe this Number will not be reckon'd too large.

Let us next fuppofe, Sir, that if the Retail of fuch Liquors were entirely prohibited, and thefe Drinkers of Gin fhould return to the Ufe of Malt Liquors, that each of the exceffive Drinkers of Gin would for the future drink a Pint of Strong Beer a Day, one Day with another; and that each of the moderate Drinkers of Gin would for the future drink half a Pint of Strong Beer a Day, one with another, more than they drink at prefent; we may from thence fee how greatly the Confumption of Beer and Ale would be hereby increased; for 400,000 Pints, and 400,000 half Pints, makes 600,000 Pints, or 75,000 Gallons a Day, which makes 27,375,000 Gallons, or 805,147 Barrels in a Year: The Excife at 4s. 6d. per Barrel upon this Increafe in the Confumption, would produce an Increase in the Excife upon Beer and Ale of 181,1581. yearly, one half of which being 90,5791. would belong to the Civil Lift; fo that according to all the Ways of Computation, the Civil Lift will get more by the Increase in the Excife upon Beer and Ale, than it can be fuppofed to lofe, according to the highest Computation, by taking from it the Duties on Spirituous Liquors;

and

and that my Computation of Gin-drinkers is within Bounds, Anno 9. Geo. II. 1736. appears from hence; that the fuppofed 400,000 exceffive Drinkers at half a Pint a Day, and the 400,000 moderate Drinkers at half a Quartern a Day, according to this Computation, confume but 31,250 Gallons a Day, which is 11,406,250 Gallons in a Year, the Duties upon which, at 3 d. a Gallon, amount to but 142,5781. per Annum; whereas the Duties upon thefe Liquors for this laft Year, amounted to 154,094 I. and we cannot fuppofe but that there are fome Frauds, with refpect to the collecting of thefe Duties, as well as in most others.

'I have chofen this new Method of Calculation, Sir, not because I think the other falfe or deceitful, but to fhew, that whatever Method we choofe, and from the most modeft Calculations we can make, this general Truth will always appear, That by prohibiting the Retail of Spirituous Liquors, the Civil Lift will get more by the Increase of the Excife on Beer and Ale, than it can lofe by the Decrease of the Duties upon fuch Liquors: And now with refpect to the Obfervations made upon the other Method, I must say, that the Gentlemen of the other Side treat us, as Free-thinkers are treated by fome of their Antagonifts: They ftate a weak or a falfe Argument for us, answer it, and then triumph in the Victory they have obtained. I have never heard it faid, Sir, in this Houfe, nor in any any other Place, that as the Duties upon Spirituous Liquors decreafe or increase, the Excife upon Beer and Ale muft always increase or decrease in an exact Proportion: That if the Duties upon the former decrease or increase one fifth, one fixth, or one tenth, the other muft increase or decrease exactly one fifth, one fixth, or one tenth, and neither more nor lefs. No, Sir, there are many other Accidents may contribute to the Increase or Decrease of the Excife on Beer and Ale, and therefore this Proportion cannot be exact: Yet I cannot allow, that the Accident mentioned by the honourable Gentleman, could have any great Influence upon the Excife in 1729; for the Price of Malt was not, fo far as I remember, fo high that Year, as to put our Brewers out of the common Way of Brewing; and befides, we know that the Strong Drink brewed for common Draught, from whence the greatest Part of the Excife is raised, is never defigned to be kept a great many Years; fo that in fuch Sort of Drink the Brewers never think of laying up a great Stock to provide for a Year of Scarcity: But I fhall mention one Accident, which, I will take upon me to fay, has greatly contributed to keep up the Excise these last two Years, and yet has contributed nothing towards raifing the Produce of the Duties, at least, on Home-made Spirits; I mean, Sir, the late general Election

for

Anno 9. Geo. 11. for this Parliament, and the many very extraordinary dif 1736. puted Elections that have been fince; for it is certain that thefe Elections and Difputes have added greatly to the Confumption of Beer and Ale, tho' I have never yet heard of a Candidate, who treated his Voters or Witneffes with Gin.

The House refolve

And lastly, Sir, with refpect to the Propofition this Day made to us, I am surprised to hear the honourable Gentleman fay, that it alters the Nature of the present Establishment of the Civil Lift; for upon the contrary, it pursues exactly the Nature of that Establishment: With refpect to the prefent Civil Lift, fo far as the Parliament ftands obliged to make it good, his Majefty is accountable; for he cannot make any Demand upon the Parliament, till he has laid an Account of the Civil Lift Revenues before them, in order to fhew them the Deficiency: By the Propofition now before us, we are to enlarge that Establishment, we are to oblige ourselves to make a future Sum yearly good to his Majesty; and I hope the honourable Gentleman would not have us lay ourfelves under fuch an Obligation, and at the fame Time put it in the Power of any future Minister to come and tell us, whenever he pleases, that there was a Deficiency as to that further Sum; and that therefore he infifted upon our making it good, without laying any Account before us from whence that Deficiency might appear.

To conclude, Sir, from the whole that has been faid upon this Subject, it appears evident to me, that if the Surplus of the Civil Lift fhould be diminfhed by what we are now about, we are not obliged to make it good: That if we were obliged to make the Lofs good, it ought not to be computed at 70,000l. per Annum : That if it fhould be computed at 70,000l. per Annum, it is apparent that it will be made good by the Increase of the Excife: That if this were not apparent, the Propofition now made to us will fully answer that Uncertainty: That the Propofition now made to us is exactly conformable to the Nature of the present Establishment of the Civil Lift; and that if it were not, it is become neceffary, by the Demand now made upon us in favour of the Civil Lift; fo that in no Cafe can I find any Reason for taking fuch a Sum as 70,000l. a Year from the Sinking Fund; and therefore I cannot agree that this Clause, in the present Form, should stand Part of the Bill.'

The Question being then put, to agree with the Committo agree with the tee in the Amendments made to this Claufe, it was, upon Divifion, carried in the Affirmative, by 183 to 110.

ommittee in their

Civil Lift.

April 6. The House refumed the Confideration of the Report from the Committee on the Bill for preventing the Retail of Spirituous Liquors, when the following Claufe was offer'd for excepting Punch; viz. Provided always, that

nothing

Punch out of the

* nothing in this Act contained fhall extend, or be conftrued Anno 9. Geo. II. 1736. to extend, to charge with any of the Duties directed to be paid, levied, or collected, by this Act, any Spirits of A Claufe offer'd * Strong Waters, to be made into the Liquor commonly for excepting called Punch, to be retailed and confumed in the Houfe, Bl relating to or Houses, of any Perfon, or Perfons, keeping a publick Spirituous Liquors, Inn, Coffee-houfe, Victualling-houfe, or Ale-house, who fhall have been firft licensed to fell Wine, Beer, Ale, or other Liquors, or to subject the Makers, or Retailers of the faid Liquor called Punch, to take out Licences from the Commiffioners of Excise, as herein before directed for Retailers of Spirituous Liquors, or Strong Waters. Pro'vided the faid Liquor called Punch, fo to be retailed and ⚫ confumed as aforefaid, be made or mixed with two third 'Parts Water at the least, in the Prefence of the Buyer, and that the Spirit with which the faid Liquor is to be made, be not fold, or retailed, in a lefs Quantity than one Pint, or at a lefs Price than after the Rate of 5 s. per Gallon; and all and every Perfon, or Perfons, acting contrary hereto, fhall forfeit the Sum of 5 1. for every Offence, one Moiety thereof to the Informer, or Profecutor, that fhall inform or profecute for the fame, the other 'Moiety to his Majefty, his Heirs and Succeffors: And the Proof that the fame was fo mixed and fold at fuch Price as aforefaid, fhall lye on the Vender or Seller thereof, and not on the Informer or Profecutor.'

The Arguments in Favour of the faid Claufe were as fol- Arguments in fa lows:

Sir,

As the Complaint, which occafioned the bringing in of this Bill was chiefly aim'd against the exceffive Ufe of Homemade Spirits among the common People, which proceeded entirely from the low Price, and from the Liberty many Perfons took to retail them without a Licence, I have always been of Opinion, that the Evil complained of might have been cured, without laying on fuch heavy Duties as will amount to a Prohibition of the Retail of all distilled Spirituous Liquors: However, as the Confumption of Rum, when made into Punch, has never occafioned the leaft Complaint, and as that Comfumption is of very great Confequence to this Nation, I muft beg Leave to offer a few Words in favour of the Claufe propos'd.

I believe, Sir, no Gentleman in this Houfe is ignorant of the prefent declining State of our Sugar-Colonies: Their Circumstances have been of late fo fully laid before Parliament, and every Man who has a Regard for his Fellow Subject, or for the Good of his Country, muft be fenfibly touched with their juft Complaints. Their Rivals in the SugarVOL. IV. Trade

Dd

your of that Clanfe.