jesty, the validity of which was contested upon this occasion by the members of the old corporation who claimed under a charter of Elizabeth, confirmed by Charles I. That same body had already obtained a decision of a committee of the House of Commons in its favour and on this occasion thought fit to renew its pretensions on the same grounds as before, but with inferior success.

In 1796, Mr. Abbot, who had been seated after some delay, and an appeal to a committee, was reelected for Helstone, in conjunction with Lord Francis Godolphin Osborne, who family possessed considerable influence in the borough. In 1802 he was nominated both for Woodstock and Heytesbury, and having thus an option, he chose the former, with which he has been connected for some years as recorder.

But although, as has been already hinted, Mr. Abbot does not appear to have been very zealous to distinguish himself in the courts of justice; yet he was not inattentive to those professional advantages which are derived from a legal education. We accordingly find him, as a legislator, producing a remedy for a grievance which had long been complained of, namely, the defective state of the promulgation of the

statutes.

* At the close of the poll for Woodstock, the numbers were as follows:

On the 2d of November 1796, he addressed the Speaker as follows:

"Sir, at the close of the last parliament, this grievance was pointed out in the report of a committee upon the temporary laws; and the notoriety of the grievance is such, that I believe I need appeal to no other proof of its existence than the experience of every man within and without these walls, whose situation in life has at any time, in any degree, engaged him in the administration of justice. The plain fact is this; that the magistrates, who are entrusted with the execution of the laws, have not any correct and speedy means of knowing the laws which they are required to enforce; and his majesty's subjects in general are exposed to the hazard of incurring the penalties of laws of whid they have no direct communication whatever.

"With regard to the causes by which the evil exists, most certainly no present blame is personally imputable any where. The truth is, that the evil has come upon us by the change of customs which naturally belongs to a change of times; and when the older usage of proclaiming statutes by the sheriff was suspended by the introduction of printing, we can only wonder, that our ancestors did not at that æra substitute some better method of promulgation by the very means of which they had acquired the facility. But, Sir, no such step was then taken; and the grievance has since grown gradually, with the annual multiplication of our statutes, to such a magnitude as demands an immediate and effectual remedy.

"That an adequate remedy should be given, the dignity of parliament requires, and its wisdom will undoubtedly provide. At the same time, however, if an apprehension should be entertained by any gentleman, that purposes such as these, in times like our own, ought to be limited by considerations of economy, I believe I may venture to allege, that means will probably be found arising out of the arrangement of the business, and out of the very improvement of the present system, which may furnish an effectual distribution upon a scale of very considerable extent, even without enhancing the public expenditure in any degree whatever. What that arrangement may be, through what channels the promulgation may be best carried, and to what objects it may be best

directed,

directed, I should conceive to be the proper province of a com mittee to inquire. By that committee, such data may be collected, and such observations upon the materials before them may be prepared for the use of the house, as can enable it afterwards to form a maturer judgement upon the whole question. And ultimately I cannot doubt, but that parliament will give to our laws, that which has been so long and so greatly wanting, an expeditious, extensive, and effectual publicity."

He then moved,

"That a committee might be appointed to consider of the most effectual mode of promulgating the statutes of the realm, and to report the same, with their observations, to the house."

The motion being seconded by Mr. Wilberforce, was carried, and in the course of the proceedings, which were voluminous, Mr. Abbot presented the following resolutions, which being afterwards agreed to, formed the basis of a very salutary bill.

1. That his majesty's printer be authorised and directed to print and deliver no less than three thousand five hundred and fifty copies of every public and general act of parliament, instead of one thousand one hundred and twenty-six now issued; and not less than two hundred copies of every local act, including road-bills, and two hundred copies of every private act, according to the usual mode of distribution.

2. That he print and deliver the public acts, or remit them by the post as soon as possible after they are ordered.

3. That the private acts be remitted in the same manner.

4. That copies be sent to the chief magistrate or head officer of every town, stewartry, or burgh, in England, Scotland, and Wales. 5. That the parties interested in private bills pay the expence of printing instead of the public.

6. That the general statutes state the heads and clauses of each statute, together with the general substance of each head in a particular clause.

7. That the precise duration of temporary bills be inserted in the head, or close of the bill, and no where else.

8. That

8. That the revival of various statutes proposed to be revived be included in one bill, and those to be continued in another, expressing the precise duration or continuance thereof.

Had the ideas of Mr. Abbot, in respect to reform. ing and improving the diction of the acts of parliament, been fully carried into execution, they would have proved a most excellent accompaniment to their better promulgation: but he was precluded by a variety of circumstances from completing his plan. He however recommended it " as a practicable thing to the executive government, upon the experience of the laws of the American Congress; which are so simple, perspicuous, and comprehensive, as to be intelligible by persons of the meanest capacity, while they are perfectly fitted for the purpose intended."

In 1797 and 1798 we find Mr. Abbot acting as chairman of the select committee of finance, and presenting a number of important resolutions in its name, which have proved highly beneficial, by being enacted in the form of statutes.

When Mr. Pitt first proposed the income tax, that measure was warmly canvassed by the members in opposition; but it was on the other hand ably defended by the subject of this memoir on the following grounds:

1. As being assented to, in a public declaration, by the merchants of the city of London, or in other words, the monied interest.

2. As operating on the same excellent principle as the poor laws.

3. As sanctioned by a celebrated act in the reign of King William.

4. As being comprehensive in all its details, and affording im mediate

mediate relief against the possible oppression of any of those who might act under its authority.

5. On account of the economical mode of collection.

6. On account of preventing the increase of permanent taxation.

He concluded an admirable* speech on that side

*On the 4th of December, 1798, Mr. Abbot rose "to declare his perfect approbation of the measure, in which opinion of it he said he was happy in not standing alone, as a very great majority of the people of the country had manifested their public spirit and the just sense they entertained of the cause they were embarked in, by highly approving of the principle of the bill, and acknowledging the sound policy of raising a considerable part of the supplies within the year, Among those who stood foremost in the support of the measure, were to be reckoned a description of persons, who, from their habits and occupations in life, should be supposed to be the most conversant in the financial concerns of the country-he meant the leading mercantile and monied men in the metropolis. These had not only assented to the plan, but declared their opinion, that income was one of the most proper objects of taxation-and on the general principle that all income should be rated as it was found, without a reference to particular cases-and, indeed, it was on this principle that all modes of direct taxation whatsoever operated. As a striking instance of this, let gentlemen consider the principle of the poor's laws: they operated precisely as the bill in question professed to do, and the principle of the poor's laws was never yet called in question. One of the prominent features of the measure was the increasing scale from a low beginning up to a certain amount, by which it was to affect income; and by the peculiar mode laid down, the poorer classes in society were wholly exempted. To the principles of the bill, several precedents in the history of the country clearly applied, exclusive of that generally adopted, throughout the poor's laws; for instance, the poll tax in the reign of King William, the principle was directly the same, though not the mode of operation, as in the latter the tax in

creased