arrival in any port, towards the support of his majesty's light-houses. This duty has been placed under the management of the commissioners of the revenue by the letter of queen Anne, dated 22d November, 1704, *upon the surrender of a certain patent granted by king Charles II. to the earl of Abercorn.

XVI. The duty of excise is distinguishable as a new impost from the more ancient customs, and as an inland imposition under the management of the commissioners of excise, from the port duties or customs which are received by the collectors and other officers of the respective ports. This duty is called by the name of "New Impost" in the 12 Car. 2. c. 23. Eng.; and the 14 & 15 Car. 2. c. 8. Ir. is intitled "An act for settling the excise or new impost upon his majesty, his heirs and successors, according to the book of rates therein inserted." By the former statute it was confined to beer, ale, and other liquors; but by the latter almost every possible article of import was made liable to this excise duty, to be paid by the first buyer or importer, as well as beer, ale, and other liquors made within the kingdom.

The duties of excise and customs which were formerly paid in England according to two books of rates annexed to the 12 Car. 2. c. 4. Eng. and 11 Geo. 1. c. 7. Eng. as altered by subsequent statutes, were consolidated

*Howard's Rev. vol. 1. p. 61.

§ 16...

Excise.

Customs.

Excise.

the 27 Geo. 3. c. 13. Eng. but many new duties having been imposed, the 43 Geo. 3. c. 68. G. B. has been since also passed to repeal the duties of customs payable in Great Britain and to grant other duties in lieu thereof; and by the 43 Geo. 3. c. 69. G. B. the duties of excise theretofore payable in Great Britain have been also repealed and others substituted in their place. Two books of rates were also annexed to the 14 & 15 Car. 2. c. 8. Ir. called the Act of Excise, and to the 14 & 15 Car. 2. c. 9. Ir. called the Act of Customs, but the duties of customs and Import-excise, excise, payable by these and other acts, were first consoli- solidated in Iredated by the 31 Geo. 3. c. 1. Ir.; and the 45 Geo. 3.c. 18. I. is the last act consolidating and augmenting these duties; some alterations have been since also made by subsequent statutes in respect to the amount and mode of collecting these several duties in Great Britain and Ireland.

and customs con

land.

ticles.

The duties of customs are payable upon almost every article of import, as well as upon many exported or carried coastwise, which are of course too numerous to detail; but the duties of excise in England are levied upon auctions, beer, bricks and tiles, candles, cocoa-nuts and coffee, Exciseable ar cider and perry, glass, hides and skins, hops, licenses, malt, metheglin or mead, paper, printed goods, salt, soap, spirits, starch, sweets, tea, tobacco and snuff, verjuice, vinegar, wine, and wire; and in Ireland the inland duties of excise are levied by the 47 Geo. 3. st. 1. c. 18. I. upon auctions, cards and dice, glass bottles, leather, metheglin or mead, paper-manufacture, paper-hangings, plate wrought, sweets or made wines, tobacco, vellum or parchment, and vinegar; and upon malt and spirits by the 48 Geo. 3. c. 78. I.; which are the last acts imposing duties on these articles.

§ 17.

Salt duty.

18.

XVII. The 5 W. & M. c. 7. Eng. is the first statute by which the duty on salt was imposed; which placed it within the receipt of the commiss.oners of excise: but by the 1 Ann st. 1. c. 21. Eng. the receipt of this duty was transferred to particular commissioners. This duty was made perpetual by the 26 Geo. 2. c. 3. Eng. and several statutes have been since passed in respect to this duty. This article has been made subject to an increased duty of customs by the 43 Geo. 3. c. 68. G. B. and to a duty of excise by the 43 Geo. 3. c. 69. G. B.; and the 45 Geo. 3, c. 14. G. B. which imposed an additional duty, provides that it shall be under the management of the commissioners of the excise. In Ireland salt was made liable to an import-excise duty by the 14 & 15 Car. 2. c. 8. Ir. and to the duty of customs by the 14 & 15 Car. 2. c. 9. Ir. The 45 Geo. 3: c. 18. I. has consolidated and augmented these duties amongst others.

XVIII. With respect to the revenue of the post-office, I Post-office. Lave only to observe, that the first statute erecting and establishing a post-office in England was the 12 Car. 2. c. 35. Eng. but the 23 & 24 Geo. 3. c. 17. Ir. was the first statute passed for the support of his majesty's government and the convenience of trade by the establishment of a post office in Ireland. The 41 Geo. 3. c. 7. is the last act regulating the rates of postage in Great Britain:

Britain and the duties upon letters and packets sent by the post within Ireland are levied by virtue of the 43 Geo. 3. c. 28. I. and 45 Geo. 3. c. 21. I.

XIX. The first institution of the stamp-duties appears to have been in England by the 22 & 23 Car. 2. st. 2. c. 9. Eng. but the first stamp act passed in Ireland is the 13 & 14 Geo. 3. c. 6. Ir. The stamp duties payable in Great Britain were consolidated by the 44 Geo. 3. c. 98. G. B. and have since undergone some modifications by the 45 Geo. 3. c. 28-46 Geo. 3. c. 43. and 48 Geo. 3: c. 149 & c. 143. And in Ireland these duties have been also consolidated by the 47 Geo. 3. st. 1. c. 50. I. which statute has been since amended by the 47 Geo. 3. st. 2. c. 14. I. and 48 Geo. 3. c. 41. I.

$ 19.

Stamp duty.

hawkers and

XX. The duty payable by hawkers and pedlers, &c. is § 20. another branch of the extraordinary perpetual revenue, Duty upon which was first imposed by the 9 & 10 W. 3. c. 27. Eng. and peilers. since increased by the 29 Geo. 3. c. 26. Eng. These petty chapmen, or other trading persons of that description, are required to be licensed in Ireland, and are liable to a stamp duty in that respect by the 48 Geo. 3. c. 41. I. and the previous stamp acts.

hackney coaches

XXI. Similar to the last, is the revenue arising from § 21. licenses to hackney coaches and chairs, within the cities of Licenses to London and Westminster and the suburbs thereof. A duty and chairs. upon hackney coaches was first imposed by the 13 & 14 Çar. 2. c. 2. Eng.; and the last act laying a duty thereon is the 24 Geo. 3. c. 27. Eng. The commissioners are also authorized to license chairs by the 9 Ann. c. 23. Eng.

§ 22.

House and win

des tax.

XXII. The duty upon houses and windows which was first established in England by the 7 & 8 W.3. c. 18 Eng. has been since increased by several subsequent statutes. The 48 Geo. 3. c. 55. G. B. is the last act ascertaining the duties payable for every dwelling-house in Great Britain (with certain exceptions) according to the number of windows or lights, as also the duties payable on inhabited dwelling-houses according to the value thereof. The hearth-money tax (to which this succeeded) which was Hearth-money introduced in England by the 13 & 14 Car. 2. c. 10. was abolished by the 1 W. & M. st. 1. c. 10. Eng.; but this duty upon hearths has been a house tax levied in Ireland

since

and window tax

in Ireland.

since the 14 & 15 Car. 2. c. 17. Ir. was passed establishing this branch of the revenue in recompence for the profits of the court of wards. By the 48 Geo. 3. c. 42. I. certain duties and taxes are granted to his majesty upon fire hearths and windows, in lieu of all former duties, &c. in respect to the like articles. But this statute does not Rent Tar. increase the taxes upon houses and tenements, (not chargeable with hearth money or window tax), which are payable in respect of their yearly rent or value by the 47 Geo. 3. st. 1. c. 18. I.

Servant's tax.

Carriage tax.

Tax for horses,

&c.

Upon horse dealers,

For keeping dogs

For using hairborder,

The duty payable in respect of servants which was first established by the 17 Geo. 3. c. 39. Eng. was first imposed in Ireland by the 38 Geo. 3. c. 5. Ir. and the last statute ascertaining the duties payable in Great Britain for male servants in proportion to their number and according to the capacities in which they are employed is the 48 Geo. 3. c. 55. The taxes payable for male servants in Ireland are defined and regulated by the 48 Geo. 3. C. 42. I.

The next branch of the extraordinary revenue which I shall consider in this place is the duty upon carriages, which is a branch of revenue established since Sir Wm. Blackstone's time, and is payable in proportion to their number and according to their construction. This tax is also defined by the 48 Geo. 3. c, 55. G. B, with respect to Great Britain; and with relation to Ireland by the 48 Geo. 3. c. 42. I.

Next in order is the tax upon horses, mares, geldings, and mules. The last statute ascertaining the rates payable in Great Britain in respect to horses, &c. is the 48 Geo. 3. c. 55. G. B.; and horse-dealers are thereby also liable to an annual duty. The 48 Geo. 3. c. 42. I. contains also a schedule of the duties payable for horses, &c. in Ireland, but this statute does not impose any special duty or tax upon horse-dealers.

These statutes, 48 Geo. 3. c. 55. G. B. and 48 Geo, 3. c. 42. I. also impose new duties upon persons keeping dogs, with respect to their number and description in Great Britain and Ireland respectively.

Another personal tax payable in Great Britain is in respect of hair-powder used or worn, which duty is

also

also increased by the 48 Geo. 3. c. 55. G. B. but no such

tax is payable in Ireland.

bearings,

The tax upon persons in respect of any armorial For armorial bearing or ensign used or worn by them, is also a modern

tax and one peculiar to Great Britain, the amount whereof

is also increased by the 48 Geo. 3. c. 55. G. B.

This statute 48 Geo. 3. c. 55. G. B. also imposes For killing game new additional duties upon persons in respect of killing game. And by the 43 Geo. 3. c. 23. I. certain duties are payable upon certificates with respect to the killing of game in Ireland; which duties have been since increased by the 47 Geo. 3. st. 1. c. 50. I. which consolidates the stamp duties payable in Ireland.

THEC

Ireland.

These several classes of taxes or branches of revenue Assessed taxes of Great Britain arising from houses, windows, servants, carriages, horses, and horse dealers, dogs, hair-powder, armorial bearings, and game, are called in Great Britain "Assessed taxes," being collected in the several parishes, wards and places, by assessors appointed by the commissioners of the land tax, and are placed under the management of the commissioners for the affairs of taxes. And the inland duties Inland taxes of or taxes which are levied under the 47 Geo. 3. st. 1. c. 18. I. upon certain houses and tenemonts, and by the 48 Geo. 3, c. 42. I. upon fire-hearths, windows, male servants, carriages, horses, and dogs, are placed under the management of the commissioners of inland excise and taxes, in IreJand. These several taxes in Great Britain and Ireland and the statutes which impose them are perpetual or their duration unlimited, though some of them were in their original institution but annual or temporary.

XXIII. By the 43 Geo. 3. c. 70. G. B. 44 Geo. 3. c. 53. G. B. and 46 Geo. 3. c. 42. G. B. additional duties on the importation and exportation of certain goods, wares and merchandize, and on the tunnage of ships and vessels in Great Britain, and on goods, &c. carried coastwise, are granted to his majesty during the present war and for 6 months after. And by the 46 Geo. 3. c. 39. G. B. and 47 Geo. 3. st. 1. c. 27. G. B. additional duties of excise are also granted to his majesty until 12 months after the ratification of a definitive treaty of peace; but by the 47

Geo.

§ 23.

War taxes.