The New Annual Register, Or General Repository of History, Politics, and ...

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PAPER S.

Thefe

ne rate. anches re. ct. Suppofe adopted measure the duties upon the ranches, the amount of will be nearly 75. id. for gallon of French cordial waimported in four glass bottles.

duties now form a part, may be charged upon the aggregate fund, just in the fame manner as the deficiencies in the funds to which the five first were applicable, now ftand charged by the fame act.

No realon occurs to us, why the fame fteps may not be taken with regard to wine, tea, fugar, tobacco, linen, falt, coals, and any other extenfive and productive fabjects of the cultom duties. The proper rule of computation may be itablifhed; the aggregate of the tics obtained; the fum paid into exchequer, under the head of ties upon that particular arad carried to the finking N that fund to be made lideficiencies as may be this alteration. The Joms will find imme .om fuch a regulation; will be continually ap

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og nearer to its completion. Af the principles on which we ave endeavoured to etablish this, confolidation of the custom duties be well founded, they lead to a ftill more important and extenfive regulation.

We cannot prefume to pronounce, without a previous examination, that they can be applied to fuch other offices of the revenue as are perplexed with a multipleiity of dittinct accounts; but it is highly probable, that diftinction, in every office, is, for the most part, rendered neceffary, upon the fame ground of appropriation; and, if fo, it may upon the fame principles be abolifhed. This will open the way to a great measure of financial regulation to the introduction of the moft fimple of all nodes of account into the depofitory of the public treasure the formation of one fund, into which fhall flow every ftream of the public revenue, and from

The officer will by thefe means, be relieved from all computation upon this article; and his entries will be rendered fimple. One fum may be paid into the exchequer, under the fame head of fubfidy on fpirits, and the whole carried, as the produce of five of the branches is now, to the aggregate fund; and the deficiencies that may arife from thence, in the funds of which thefe fix laft

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whence

all the deficiencies, that might hap pen in the funds to which thefe dufies had been applied, upon the aggregate fund.

One of the confequences of this act was, a confolidation of certain branches of duties, both in the cuf toms and exchequer. Five of the duties, to which French cordial waters are fubject, are, the old, the new, the one third, the two thirds fubfidies, and the fecond twenty-five per cent. on French goods; and, if imported by aliens, the petty customs likewife. These five duties, in order to obtain the amount of them, are fill raifed and collected in the customs under their distinct heads; but when collected, they are blended into one fum, under the head of fubfidy on fpirits," and accounted for and paid as one fum, under that fingle head, into the exchequer, and there carried to the aggregate fund.

"The acts we have thus referred to, evince that the legislature have from time to time, in every reign fince the Revolution, upon principles of public convenience, either varied, blended, diminished, or repealed, with or without a fubftitution, duties appropriated to the payment of annuities to public creditors of all deferiptions, without their confent. The confequence is, that the appropriation of the twenty-two remaining branches of the customs to the payment of annuities, is no impediment to the blending them with the reft; and then all the branches of the customs may be united together, and be formed into, one head of duties only, under the title of "cuftoms," in the office of the exchequer, as well as in that of

the customs.

"There is another circumstance affecting thefe duties, which occurs in the exchequer, and requires con

fideration many the branches of the cultoms are connected, in the exchequer, with branches of the excife, and other duties of different denominations, and form together compound funds, appropriated in fome instances to one, in others to various fervices.

"In the account of the duties out of which the annuities are paid to the companies, it appears, that among the duties appropriated to the payment of the annuities to the bank of England, there is one Among

branch of the customs. thofe to the South Sea company, there are twelve. Of the rett, we have feen that fix are carried to the general fund, fourteen to the aggregate, and eleven to the finking fund. All thefe are charged, in common with other duties, with the payment of various fervices.

"Suppofe the one entire fum of cuftoms to be carried, when paid, into the excequer, to the finking fund-the effect will be, each of thefe compound funds will be diminished by the amount of the cuf tom duties fubtracted from it; and, fhould this diminution occafion a deficiency in any of the funds to anfwer the charges upon it, the act of the 9th of George the Second, above alluded to, furnishes the remedy: every fuch deficiency may be fupplied, as most of the deficiencies are at prefent, from the finking fund; and that fund will likewife become chargeable with the payment of thofe annuities to which the twentytwo branches are now feparately appropriated.

This confolidation of the duties will not prevent any diftinction in the receipt, which may be thought neceffary to be preferved in the office of collection. The annual produce of the imports, the exports, the coaftwife duties, in

London

London and at each out port, or any other account, may be kept feparate, the knowledge of which may contribute to the regulation or improvement of this revenue.

"We have above fuggefted, that, before this reduction can be com. pleted, a book of rates must be form ed, afcertaining the amount of the duties to be paid upon every article, under every circumstance of importation or exportation which varies the duty. The amount of the drawback to be allowed on each article, upon exportation, must be fettled likewife.If the reduction can be formed, and carried by degrees into execution, the plan may be entered and proceeded upon im mediately, without delaying it until the book of rates is completed.

means.

"The act of the 9th of George the Second feems to point out the That act felects all the articles, included under the denomination of fpirits, from other articles liable to the fame duties, and lays the ground for a confolidation of five of the duties to which fpirits were at that time fubject. Thefe five are a poundage upon the rate. There are now fix branches remaining, kept. diftinct. Suppofe the rate to be the adopted meafure of computing the duties upon the remaining branches, the amount of the duty will be nearly 75. 1d. for every gallon of French cordial waters imported in four glass bottles.

duties now form a part, may be charged upon the aggregate fund, juft in the fame manner as the deficiencies in the funds to which the five first were applicable, now ftand charged by the fame act.

"No reafon occurs to us, why the fame fteps may not be taken with regard to wine, tea, fugar, tobacco, linen, falt, coals, and any other extenfive and productive fabjets of the cultom duties. The proper rule of computation may be established; the aggregate of the duties obtained; the fum paid into the exchequer, under the head of the duties upon that particular article, and carried to the finking fund; and that fund to be made liable to fuch deficiencies as may be occafioned by this alteration. -The office of the customs will find imme diate benefit from fuch a regulation; and the plan will be continually ap proaching nearer to its completion.

"If the principles on which we have endeavoured to eliablil this confolidation of the custom duties be well founded, they lead to a ftill more important and extenlive regulation.

We cannot prefume to pronounce, without a previous examination, that they can be applied to fuch other offices of the revenue as are perplexed with a multipleiity of dittinct accounts; but it is highly probable, that diftinction, in every office, is, for the most part, rendered neceffary, upon the fame ground of appropriation; and, if fo, it may upon the fame principles be abolished. This will open the way to a great measure of financial regu lation to the introduction of the moft fimple of all modes of account into the depofitory of the public treafure-the formation of one fund, into which fhall flow every stream of the public revenue, and from

whence

whence fhall iffue the fupply for
every public fervice.
"The public creditor may fafely
rely upon
this fund for the payment
of his annuity: the excefs of it will
be the fame as the excefs of the
finking fund would be, were that
fund to continue in its prefent ftate.
"How far the produce of the
finking fund has exceeded the
charges upon it, appears from the ac-
count of the furpluffes for thefe laft
ten years. The fum therein stated
as the furplus of the last year is incom-
plete: It amounted to above
1,600,000l. more; which fum has
been iffued to fupply the deficien-
cies of the taxes for five quarters,
occafioned in part from the intereft
of the loans often taking place long
before the taxes raised for the pay-
ment of the annuities commen-
ced, and ftill longer before any part
of them were received-and in part
from the unproductiveness of other
duties. The ufage has been, to re-
place thefe deficiencies to the fink-
ing fund from the fupplies of the
year.

"Thus, one great fund of revenue, compofed of the annual income of the state, will be the ample fecurity to every public creditor for the payment of his annuity; and the collateral fecurity to that fund, the property of the nation.

"This plan is confiftent with every distinction of account in the exchequer, that may be neceffary to preferve the knowledge of the produce of each of the feveral leading branches of revenue, and the quantum and circumftances of the "iffue for any particular fervice. There is no danger of confounding the re

eeipts, or of the iffues exceeding the fums voted or appropriated to each fervice.

"We have confined this inquiry to the collection of the duties in the office of the customs, the payment of them into the exchequer, and the manner in which the accounts of them are kept in both offices.

"What remains, and will be the next object of our examination, is the diminution of the produce of thefe duties by the charges of management; which, though a branch of the fame fubject, is capable of a diftinct and feparate confideration. The objects it involves are numerous, and of moment to the public: the investigation muft, from the nature of them, require much time and attention. Had we waited until that investigation could have been completed, our report, already fufficiently voluminous, must have been delayed to a diftant period: and fhould the materials we have thus collected, be deemed a fuffici ent ground for the exertion of the wifdom of parliament, the public might have been deprived of the early benefit of regulation effential to the fecurity and good management of their revenue, and to the facility and accuracy of their accounts, in two of their most impor tant offices.