Thefe voted afterwards against the Excife, Beaumont Sir George, Leicester. Clarke George, Oxford University. Coleraine Lord, Bofton, Lincolnshire, Coryton Sir John, Kellington, Cornwall. Dering Sir Edward, Kent. Desbouverie Sir Edward, Shaftsbury, Dorfetfhire, Ellis Sir Richard, Bofton, Lincolnshire. Gifford John, Westbury, Wilts. Horner Thomas Strangeways, Somerfetfhire, Jenifon Ralph, Northumberland. Knollys Francis, Oxford City, Noel William, Stamford, Lincolnshire. York John, Richmond, Yorkshire. After the Queftion upon this first Resolution had been thus carry'd in the Affirmative, the following Refolutions were propofed and agreed to without any Divifion, viz. 2d, That it was the Opinion of that Committee, that in lieu of the faid Duties, (viz. those mention'd in the first Refolution) fo to be determined, there should be granted to his Majefty an Inland Duty of Four-pence per Pound upon all Tobacco imported from the British Plantations, to be paid before the taking the fame out of the Warehouse. 3d, That it was the Opinion of that Committee, that the Inland Duties, to be raised and levy'd upon Tobacco, -fhould be appropriated and apply'd to the fame Ufes and Purposes Purposes, as the former Duties upon Tobacco, to be determined, were appropriated and apply'd. 4th. That it was the Opinion of that Committee, that all Fines, Penalties, Forfeitures, and Seizures, to arife by the faid Duties, fhould be apply'd to the Ufe of the Publick, except fo much thereof as fhould be al lowed to the Informers or Profecutors. Thus the Excife-Scheme triumphed for this firft Day in the Houfe of Commons; but the Debate had lafted fo long, that it was near Two o'Clock on Thurfday Morning before the House 'rofe, and therefore they adjourned over 'till next Day. On Friday the 16th of March, Sir Charles Turner (according to Order) reported to the Houfe the Refolutions the Committee had come to, in Relation to the Duties on Tobacco. After Sir Charles had read the Report in his Place, and had deliver'd it in at the Table, the Serjeant at Arms, attending the Houfe, was order'd to go with the Mace into Weftminster-Hall, and into the Court of Requests, and Places adjacent, and fummon the Members there to attend the Service of the Houfe. Upon his Return, the first Refolution the Committee had come to was read, and the Question being proposed for agreeing with the Committee in that Refolution, Sir J-n Bd ftood up and spoke to the following Effect, viz. prefent in the Committee, yet I can make no Manner of Doubt, but that now, after Gentlemen have had Time to confider that Affair feriously, there will be many of a different Opinion from what they were of in the Committee; for my own Part, I must say, that the more I confider that Scheme on which thefe Refolutions are founded, the more Objections I find to it, and the lefs I find in thofe Arguments which were offered in Support of it. One of the chief Ends propofed by this Scheme is, the preventing of thofe Frauds which have formerly been committed in the Tobacco Trade; but, if we particularly examine thofe Frauds, we fhall find, that every one of them may either be prevented by the Laws already in Being, or they are fuch as cannot be effectually Rr 2 effectually prevented by any Thing in the Scheme propofed. That Fraud which has been committed upon the Weighing of the Tobacco at the Cuftom-houfe, and likewife that of exporting one Sort of Tobacco for another, is altogether owing, as has been already obferved, to a Neglect of Duty in the Officers, and not to any Defect in the Laws: And as to the Frauds of running or reJanding Tobacco after it has been enter'd for Exportation, and has receiv'd the Drawbacks, which are thofe by which the Publick has and always will fuffer moft, there is nothing in the Scheme that can any Way contribute to the preventing them; for it is not the Man ner of collecting of Duties, but the Amount of the Duties, which occafions Smuggling or Running in all Countries, and in all Branches of Trade; and fince the Duties on Tobacco are by this Scheme to be as high, or very near as high, as they were before, we may expect there will be as much Smuggling as there was formerly; where the Temptation is great, the Number of the Tempted will increase in Proportion, let the Danger they run be never fo great. As for the Warehoufes propofed, if there be any Thing in that Part of the Scheme, which may be of Ufe against Smuggling, it is not to this Scheme, that the Propofition owes its Birth; it is what the Merchants themselves have long ago defired; and for that Purpose I drew up fome Time ago a Claufe to have been offer'd to this Houfe, which I fhewed to the honourable Gentleman on the Floor; and at that Time the Affair would have been pufhed, but there arofe fome Difputes and Differences among the Merchants themselves, which occafioned its being deferred: That Part of the Scheme therefore I fhall find no Fault with, I believe no Merchant will, but then we would have it without the Laws of Excife; for this Reason the honourable Gentleman cries out against the Merchants, as a very unreas fonable Set of Men; he fays, that they formerly defi red to have Warehoufes, and vet now they refufeto accept of them. But do not Gentlemen fee where the Difference lies? The Merchants deĥre to have Ware. houfes without an Excife, and the honourable Gentle man will not, it feems, favour us with the one, without loading us with the other. As to what the Civil Lift may get by this Scheme, it will depend entirely upon the Effect the Scheme may have in Relation to the Preventing of Frauds; but it is certain, that if the publick Revenue get any Thing by the Scheme, the Civil Lift will get in Proportion, or rather more; for, by what is now proposed, that Part of the Duty which goes towards the Civil Lift is ftill to be payable upon Importation at the Custom houfe, and to be drawn back on Exportation, as before: Now it is manifeft, that this will be a great Advantage to the Civil Lift, and often a great Inconvenience to the Merchant; for once in every fix Weeks that Money will be carry'd to the Exchequer, and when once it is lodged there, I believe it will there remain; it will never be fent back to the Custom-house, to answer any Occafion there may be for it at that Place; fo that when the Merchant comes to export a Quantity of Tobacco, and to call for his Draw-back, if the Commiffioners have none of that Civil Lift Money in their Hands, they cannot apply the Produce of any other Branch of the publick Revenue to that Ufe, and therefore the Merchant muft wait for his Drawback 'till fome new Tobacco's be imported; by which Means the Crown may often have the Ufe of that Money, which fhould have been applied to the Payment of the Merchant, perhaps for near a Twelvemonth at a Time; and the Lying out of that Money for fo long a Time, may often happen to be of dangerous Confequence to the Merchant's Credit. 4 The honourable Gentleman talk'd of making London a free Port, I wish with all my Heart he would do fo; it is certainly what every Merchant wishes to fee done, and what would greatly contribute to the Increase and Encouragement of the Trade of this Nation; but how fuch a Pretence can be fet up in Favour of the Scheme now before us, I cannot comprehend, for I can fee nothing in the Scheme that has the leaft Tendency towards producing an Effect fo much to be wifhed for: On the contrary, it appears evident to me, that by this Scheme, the Port of London, and all the other Ports of the Kingdom, will be fo far from being made free, that at every one of them the Merchant will be fubjected to more Trouble and Expence, both upon Importation and Exportation, than ever he was before. 'Tis true that, upon the Importation of Tobacco, the Merchant was formerly obliged to pay down the whole Duties, or 1 give give his Bond with fufficient Sureties, for them; but this was never any Hardship upon the Merchant, becaufe, if he had ready Money, he advanced it for the prompt Payment of the Duties, and he had an Allowance for fo doing, which was but a reasonable Allowance, confidering how long he was fometimes obliged to keep his Tobacco on his Hands, before he met with a Market either for Home Confumption or Exportation, and how many Months Credit he was often after that obliged to give to the Buyer; and if he had not ready Money at Command, he could formerly give his Bond for the whole Duties with two fufficient Sureties, which a Man of tolerable Credit could always easily find; whereas by this Scheme, it seems, every Merchant Importer of Tobacco muft pay fome Part of the Duties at the Entry, let him make what Shift he will for the Money, which to a poor Man is a new Hardship, and to a rich Man the Payment of that Part of the Duties in ready Money, is a greater Hardship than the Payment of the whole, confidering that he has no Allowance for prompt Payment, as to that Part of the Du ties which he is obliged to pay in ready Money. I am furprised to hear any Gentleman fay, that Brewers make no Complaints on Account of their being fubjected to the Laws of Excife; I do not know what Sort of Brewers thofe Gentlemen may converfe with, but I never converfed with any who did not complain of it as a very great, Grievance, nor did I ever meet with any who could not give very fubftantial Reasons for their Complaints. There are many particular Ways by which the Officers of Excife may be troublesome and vexations to the Brewer; but there is one which is generally practifed all over the Kingdom, and that is, that thofe Officers not only gauge and take an Account of their Liquors, but likewife oblige the Brewers to fhew them their Books as often as they have a Mind ;. by which Means they not only pry into all the Secrets and Mylleries of their Trade, but likewife into their Circumflances and Fortunes. Can any Gentleman look upon this as no Grievance? Is it not a Hard/hip upon any Man to have the Secrets and Myfteries of his Trade expofed to every little Fellow whom the Commmiffio, ners of Excife fhall pleafe to put in Authority over him? But is it not ftill a greater Hardfhip, for a Man to be obliged to difcover his Circumftances to one who |