850

THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

Such taxes, in proportion to what they bring into the pub-lic treasury of the state, always take out or keep out of thepockets of the people more than almost any other taxes.They seem to do this in all the four different ways in whichit is possible to do it.

First, the levying of such taxes, even when imposed in themost judicious manner, requires a great number of custom-house and excise officers, whose salaries and perquisites area real tax upon the people, which brings nothing into thetreasury of the state. This expense, however, it must be ac-knowledged, is more moderate in Great Britain than in mostother countries. In the year which ended on the fifth of July,1775, the gross produce of the different duties, under themanagement of the commissioners of excise in England,amounted to 5,507,308/. 18.v. 8 \d. which was levied at anexpense of little more than five and a half per cent. Fromthis gross produce, however, there must be deducted whatwas paid away in bounties and drawbacks upon the exporta-tion of exciseable goods, which will reduce the neat producebelow five millions.* The levying of the salt duty, and ex-cise duty, but under a different management, is much moreexpensive. The neat revenue of the customs does not amountto two millions and a half, which is levied at an expense ofmore than ten per cent, in the salaries of officers, and otherincidents. But the perquisites of custom-house officers areeverywhere much greater than their salaries; at some portsmore than double or triple those salaries. If the salaries ofofficers, and other incidents, therefore, amount to more thanten per cent, upon the neat revenue of the customs ; the wholeexpense of levying that revenue may amount, in salaries andperquisites together, to more than twenty or thirty per cent.The officers of excise receive few*or no perquisites : and theadministration of that branch of the revenue being of morerecent establishment, is in general less corrupted than thatof the customs, into which length of time has introduced andauthorised many abuses. By charging upon malt the wholerevenue which is at present levied by the different dutiesupon malt and malt liquors, a saving, it is supposed, of morethan fifty thousand pounds might be made in the annual ex-pense of the excise. By confining the duties of customs toa few sorts of goods, and by levying those duties according

* The neat produce of that )ear, after deducting all expense* and allowances, amountedto 4,975,6521.191. 6<i.