A COMMERCE AND S I had the honour to move for the House to refolve itself into this Committee, I think it incumbent upon me to open to you what was then intended to be propofed, as the fubject of your confideration. We are now in a Committee for confidering of the most proper methods, for the better security and improvement of the duties and revenues already charged upon and payable from tobacco and wines: this can be done in no way fo proper or effectual, as that of preventing for the future thofe frauds, by which the public revenues have been fo much injured in times paft. I know, that whoever attempts to remedy frauds, attempts a thing that must be very disagreeable to all those who have been guilty of them, or who expect a benefit by fuch in time to come. This, Sir, I am fully fenfible of, and from this have fprung all thofe clamours, which have been raised without doors, against what I am now to propose to you. The fmugglers, the fraudulent dealers, and those who have for many years been enriching themselves by cheating their country, forefaw, that if the scheme I am now to propose took effect, their profitable trade would be at an end; this gave them the alarm, and from them I am perfuaded it is, that all thofe clamours have originally proceeded. In this it is certain, that they have been moft ftrenuously affifted and fupported by another fet of people, who, from motives much worfe, and of much more dangerous confequence to their country, are fond of improving every opportunity that offers, for ftirring up the people of Great-Britain to mutiny and fedition. But, Sir, notwithstanding all the clamours that fuch wicked and deceitful men have been able to raise, as the scheme I have to propofe will be a great improvement to the public revenue, an improvement of 2 or 300,000l. per annum, and perhaps more, and as it will likewife be of great advantage tq to the fair trader, I thought it my duty, not only as being in the station I am in, but also as being a Member of this House, to lay it before you; for no fuch clamours fhall ever deter me from doing what I think is my duty, or from propofing any thing that I am convinced will be of fuch fignal benefit to the revenue, and to the trade of my country. It has been moft induftriously spread abroad, that the scheme I am now to propose, was a scheme for a General Excife; but I do aver no fuch scheme ever entered into my head, nor, for what I know, into the head of any man I am acquainted with. My thoughts were always confined folely to those two branches of the revenue, arifing from the duties on wine and tobacco; and it was the frequent and repeated advices I had of the notorious frauds committed in those branches of the revenue, and the clamours even of fome of the Merchants themselves, that made me turn my thoughts particularly towards confidering those two branches, in order to find out, if poffible, fome remedy for the growing evil. What I am now going to propose will, I believe, if agreed to, be an effectual remedy; but if I now fail in what I am to propose, it will be the last attempt of this kind that I fhall ever make: I believe it will be the last that will ever be made, either by me, or by any that fhall fucceed me in the station I am now in. At present, I fhail lay before you only the cafe as it now ftands, with respect to the tobacco trade, and the revenue arising therefrom. And here it will be neceffary firft to confider the condition of our planters of tobacco in America. If we can believe them, if we can give any credit to what they themselves fay, we must conclude that they are reduced almoft to the laft extremity; they are reduced even almost to a state of despair, by the many frauds that have been committed in that trade, by the heavy duties which the importers of tobacco are obliged to pay upon importation, and by the ill ufage they have met with from their factors and correfpondents here in England; who, from being their Servants, are now become their Lords and Mafters. Masters. These poor people have fent home many reprefentations of the bad state of their affairs, and have lately fent over a Gentleman with a Remonftrance, fetting forth their grievances, and praying for some speedy relief. This they may obtain by means of the scheme I intend now to propofe; and I believe it is from this scheme only that they can expect any relief. The next thing we are to confider, is the state of the tobaccotrade, with regard to the fair trader. The man who deals honourably and fairly with the public, as well as with private men; the man who honeftly pays all thofe duties which the public is juftly entitled to, finds himself prevented and foreftalled, almost in every market within the island, by the fmuggler and the fraudulent dealer: and even as to our foreign trade in tobacco, those who have no regard to honour, to religion, or to the welfare of their country, but are every day contriving ways and means for cheating the public by perjuries and falfe entries, are the greatest gainers: and it will always be fo, unless we can fall upon fome way of putting it out of their power to carry on any such frauds for the future. And lastly, we ought to confider the great lofs fuftained by the public, by means of the frauds committed in the tobaccotrade, and the addition that muft certainly be made to the public revenue, if those frauds can be prevented in time to come. By this addition we may be enabled to relieve the nation from fome of thofe taxes, which it has laboured under fo many years; whereas, as the cafe now ftands, the innocent and the honest part of the nation are charged with taxes, which they would be free from, if the fraudulent dealers and the smugglers could be any way obliged to pay that, which is justly due by them to the public. This will, I am convinced, be the effect of the scheme I am to propose to you: and whoever, therefore, views it in its proper light, muft fee the planters, the fair traders, and the public, ranged on one fide in favour of it; and none but the unfair traders and the tobacco-factors on the other. I fhall I fhall beg leave to mention to you some of those frauds which have come to my knowledge: the evidence I have had of them is to me very convincing; but in fuch cafes, Gentlemen ought always to confider what evidence it is impoffible to bring, what evidence it is, by the nature of the thing, unreasonable to expect. A particular inftance of fraud came lately to my knowledge by mere accident. One Midford, who had been a confiderable tobacco-merchant in the city, happened to fail, at a time when he owed a large fum of money upon bond to the Crown; whereupon an extent was iffued out immediately against him, and thereby the Government got poffeffion of all his books, by which the fraud he had been guilty of was difcovered: for it appeared, as may be seen by one of his books I have in my hand, that upon the column where the falfe quantities, which had been entered at the importation, by collufion between him and the Officer, by which he paid or bonded the duty payable upon importation, a flip of paper had been fo artfully pafted on that it could not be difcovered; and upon this flip of paper were written the real quantities which were entered, because he was obliged to produce the fame book when that tobacco was entered for exportation: but then, upon exportation, the tobacco was entered and weighed according to the quantities marked upon this flip of paper fo artfully pasted on, as I have mentioned, by which he got a drawback, or his bonds returned, to near double the value of what he had actually paid duty for upon importation. Yet this Midford was as honeft a man, and as fair a trader, as any in the city of London. I defire not to be misunderstood; I mean, that before he failed, before these frauds came to be difcovered, he was always reckoned as honest a man, and as fair a trader, as any in the city of London, or in any part of the pation. After this, he mentioned the feveral frauds following: That of re-landing the tobacco after it was shipped off for exportation; that of focking of tobacco, which was a cant-word used for stealing ftealing and fmuggling it out of the fhips, after their arrival in the river, before they were unloaded at the custom-house; that of ftripping the ftalks, and afterwards splitting and preffing them by an engine contrived for that purpose, and then exporting them; that of giving bonds for the duty payable upon importation, whereby the Government had loft feveral large fums by the failure of payment of fuch bonds; that of the rich moneyed men making prompt payments, by which the public was obliged to allow them ten per cent. discount as to the duties; and by entering the tobacco foon after for exportation, they drew back the whole duties; fo that Government actually lost ten per cent. upon all the tobacco that had been fo entered. Thefe frauds are notorious, moft of them are known to the whole world; and as the Laws of the Cuftoms have been found ineffectual for preventing of fuch frauds, therefore, it is propofed to add the Laws of Excife to the Laws of the Cuftoms, and by means of both it is probable, I may say certain, that all fuch frauds will be prevented in time to come. By the feveral fubfidies and impofts now payable upon tobacco, by feveral Acts of Parliament made for that purpose, it appears, that the duties now payable upon tobacco on importation, amount to 63d. per pound weight; all which must be paid down in ready money, by the Merchant, upon importation thereof, with the allowance of ten per cent. upon prompt payment; or otherwife there must be bonds given, with fufficient fureties for payment of the money; which is often a great lofs to the public, and is always a great inconvenience to the Merchant importer; whereas, by what I am to propose, the whole duties to be paid for the future, will amount to no more than 4 d. per pound weight, and this duty not to be paid till the tobacco comes to be fold for home confumption; so that if the Merchant exports his tobacco, he will be quite free from all payment of duty, or giving bond, or finding out proper fureties for joining in fuch bond, he will have nothing to do but to re-load his tobacco on board a fhip for exportation, without |