EXC

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EXC

should be continued no longer than to the. end ot the war, andthenbe utterly abolished. But the parliament at Westminster soon afterimposed it on tlesh, wine, tobacco, sugar, and such a multitude ofother commodities, that it might be fairly denominated general:in pursuance of the plan laid down by Mr. Pyrame (who seems tohave been the father of Ihe excise,; in his letter to Sir John Hot ham,signifying, “ that they had proceeded in the excise to many par-ticulars, and intended to go on farther ; but that it would be neces-sary' to use the people to it by little and little.” And afterwards,when the nation had been accustomed to it for a series of years,the succeeding champions of liberty boldly and openly declared“ the impost of excise to be the most easy and indifferent levy thatcould be laid upon the people;” and accordingly continued itduring the whole usurpation. Upon king Charles H’s return, ithaving then been long established, and its produce well known,some part of it was given to the crown, (in 12 Car. II.) by way ofJurchase for the feudal tenures and other oppressive parts of thelereditary revenue. Various additions to the original duties weremade at subsequent periods, and the excise, being extended to can-dles, soap, starch, hides, and other articles, it became one of themost productive branches of the public revenue; the gross pro-duce, in the year 1732, being 2,964,617!. About this time Sirilobert Walpole, who was of opinion that taxes ®n consumablecommodities, to which every citizen contributes in proportion tohis consumption, and which being included in the price ot the com-modity are insensibly paid, constituted the most eligible mode ofraising the revenue necessary for the public service; formed a pro-ject tor the gradual abolition not only of the taxes on land, houses,and windows, but likewise the customs, by the substitution of pro-ductive excise duties. He was influenced in the formation of thisscheme by a knowledge of the gross and shameless frauds thendaily practised in the collection ot the customs; and which, fromthe very nature of those frauds, and the extreme facility of com-mitting them, he had no hope to remedy: he thought, therefore,that to convert the greater part of the customs into duties of excise,would be equally advantageous to government and to the fairtrader; and that the excise laws might be so ameliorated that,notwithstanding the odium generally attached to them as oppressiveand arbitrary, no just ground of complaint should remain. With artew, therefore, to the execution of this plan, he obtained a revivalot the salt duties, which had been repealed some years before; butupon proposing, in the following year, to transfer the duties onwine and tobacco to the excise, so much clamour was raised against>e measure that the minister, after some perseverance, thought itprudent to relinquish this favourite project. The defeat of thissCiieme was celebrated by general rejoicings, as a deliverance fromthe greatest political danger: had it succeeded, between lour andhve millions a year would have been raised under the excisesystem, in addition to the excise duties then subsisting. Thevarious additional duties which at different times have been im-posed, and which the progress of the public expenditure lias ren-dered necessary, have greatly increased the produce of the excise,and rendered it the most important branch of the public revenue,which now amounts to more than twenty millions annually. Theduties which it comprehends are divided into the permanent con-solidated duties, the temporary war taxes, and the annual duties;me latter consists of the old annual malt duty, and of an addi-tional malt-duty, which with some duties on tobacco and snuff, andsome custom duties, have,- since the project for selling the land-ax > been granted annually in lieu thereof.

, Excise Law 's. For more easily levying the revenue of the ex-< tse, the kingdom of England and Wales is divided into about fifty0 lections, some of which are called by the names of particularcounties, others by the names of great towns ; where one countys divided into several collections, or where a collection compre-ends the contiguous parts of several counties, every such col-ei tion is subdivided into several districts, within which there is afo* > f rV1SOr ’ a , n< l eac k district is again subdivided into outrides and^ otwalks, within each of which there is a gauger or surveying|: Ker ' 1 be commissioners or sub-commissioners, in their respcc-‘;o' ? ClrCUltS al1 ^ divisions, shall constitute, under their hands anda s, ,o many’ gaugers as they shall find needful.q 1(> ri<:a rs o) duties. By' several acts of parliament, all articles inall t?°, SSesSl0 ^ P ersons subjectto the excise laws, together withme materials and utensils of whatsoever description, are made

liable for the arrears of duties, whether'these be single or doubleduties; and if a trader, being in arrears for the single duties, be-comes a bankrupt, and is convicted after the assignment of his ef-fects, the double duties are a lieu upon the exciseable commodi-ties, utensils, and materials, in the hands of his assignees, and thecommissioners or magistrates may authorize the penalty to be leviedupon all such commodities, and all the materials, preparations,utensils, and vessels for making thereof, in the custody of the bank-rupt, or any person or persons in trust for him. 2 Doug. 411.

Bonds, for the exportation of exciseabie commodities, are to betaken by officers of excise, and they are to be given generally uponall exciseable articles, at the place where exported.

Forgery of any stamps, licences, certificates, permits, or anyother excise documents, is by various statutes made a capitalfelony.

Licences. In all cases where licenses are required, the licencewill only sanction the business carried on in that particular placefor which such licence was granted; but when the business is car-ried on by partners, one licence will be sufficient to cover thefirm.

Officers of Excise . The officers of excise are to be appointed,and maybe dismissed, replaced, or altered, by the commissioners,under their hands and seals; their salaries are allowed and esta-blished by the treasury; and by 1 W. A M. c. 24. s. 15, if it isproved by two witnesses, that any officer has demanded or takenany money, or other reward whatever, except of the king, suchoffender shall forfeit his office. By several statutes, no processcan be sued out against any T officer of excise, for any act done inthe execution of his office, until one month after notice given,specifying the cause of action, and the name and abode of theperson who is to begin, and the attorney who is to conduct theaction ; and within one month after such notice, the officer maytender amends, and plead such tender in bar; and having tender-ed insufficient or no amends, he may, with leave of the court, be-fore issue joined, pay money into court. Officers of excise areempowered to search, at all times of the day, enter warehouses,,or places for tea, coffee, Ac . But private houses can only besearched upon oath of the suspicion before a commissioner orjustice of peace, who can by their warrant authorise a search.

Permits. Persons dealing in exciseable commodities are en-titled to permits for removing the same to different places in cer-tain quantities, and under certain regulations. These permits arewritten upon a peculiar species of paper, manufactured expresslyfor the purpose; and by 23 Geo. III. c. 70. s. 11, no permit pa-per is to be delivered out before it shall be filled up agreeably tothe request note of a trader; and officers knowingly granting anyfake permit, making false entries in the counterpart thereof, orreceiving any commodities into stock with a false or forged per-mit, are to be transported for seven years.

Samples. Officers of excise are, by various acts, empoweredto take samples of exciseable commodities, paying the prices-therein regulated for the same.

Seizures. When an officer makes a seizure of any spirits, orany other articles, lie must lay his hand on the casks, vessels, Ac .so seized, and declare that he seizes such spirits, &c. and the casksor vessels containing the same, for the use of his majesty and ofhimself; but if the officer happen to be alone when he makes suchseizure, he must afterwards, in the presence of witnesses, again layhis hand upon such cask, vessel, Ac. and repeat the same declara-tion of seizure. All informations on seizures must be laid in thenames of the officers making the same. By 41 Geo. III. c. 96,commissioners of excise are empowered to make restitution of ex-ciseable goods.

Scales und freights. By various acts of parliament, traderssubject to the excise laws, are to keep just and sufficient scales andweights, under penalty of 100/. for every such offence, and thescales and weights may be seized by the officer. Traders, manu-facturers, and dealers liable to the excise duties, are to assist the of-ficers in weighing stock; and forcibly obstructing, or using anyart or contrivance to prevent or impede the officers from taking atrue account, incurs a penalty of 100/.

EXCISION, in a scripture sense, means the cutting off of aperson from his people, by way of punishment for some sin. TheJews.Selden informs us, reckon up thirty-six-crimes, to which theypretend this punishment is due..

Ertcisios,.