Reasons humbly offer'd to the Honble. House of Commons for translating the duty of excise from mault-drinks to mault, whereby may be advanced to the Crown above twenty millions for carrying on the war against France together with some brief notes and observations on the laws and administrations in relation to that duty and the partiality and inequality thereof / by Robert Murray ...

REASONS Humbly Offer'd to the Hon^ble House of Commons, FOR Translating the Duty of Excise from Mault-Drinks to Mault; whereby may be Advanced to the Crown above Twenty Millions, for Carrying on the War against France.

TOGETHER, With some Brief Notes and Observations on the Laws and Administrations, in Relation to that Duty; and the Partiality and Inequality thereof.

By ROBERT MƲRRAY, Gent.

THE ensuing ••••per has no other Design in it, than to Remove a Par∣tial, and to Introduce an Impartial, DUTY; to Serve the KING, to Raise a great Revenue, and yet to Ease the People; which seems to be the Joynt Interest of the whole Nation; and to Obviate a Material Ob∣jection, viz. That this Alteration will neither affect Land, nor Landed-Men, nor the Tenant, nor Farmers, nor Maulsters, nor Brewers, (as such;) nor any but the Consumptioner; nor is the Maulster further Obliged, than to make due Entries of what he Makes, and to Pay as he Sells; by which means, it is plain, that he is no further Accountable than as a Collector; who Pays nothing, but what he first Receives: Nor do I, hereby, mean to Interfere with what the Honourable HOUSE have or shall determine, for the Service of the ensuing Year; But; if this Humble Ten∣der, of Mine, should meet with His Majesties Royal APPROBATION in Parliament, it might take Place, after the Taxes of the present Sessions; and humbly Submit what Service it may be to the KING, how much it must needs Animate the KING's Allies, and Discourage His Enemies, to see a Provision made to Supply the Occasions of the War, for so many Years to come, by a M••••••••••d so little burthen-some, or rather indeed so very Easy to the People; as will appear by what follows.

REASONS for Translating the Duty of Excise from Mault-Drinks to Mault, &c.

THE former Laws of Excise en∣joyn the Payment of Two Shil∣lings and Six Pence, for every Barrel of BEER and ALE, a∣bove Six Shillings; and Six Pence for every Barrel of BEER and ALE, of Six Shillings, or under; the Common Brewer to make his Entry Weekly; Inn-Holders, Victuallers, and Ale-house-keepers, per Mensem, under the several Penalties therein mentioned.

THAT, notwithstanding these Entries are duly Made and Attested, the Officer's single Evidence is Conclusive, and his Charge (though never so unreasonable) must be Paid; and the Brewer is not ad∣mitted to Discharge himself, though, by the express Letter of the Statute, he is allowed so to do; The Ganger making up his Charge by Hot and Cold Worts, in the Tun or Backs; whereby they are over∣charged One Sixth Part at least: Where∣as the Duty chargeable by Law only, is, on every Barrel of BEER and ALE, Sold and Delivered out; and the Allowances of Two Barrels of Ale, upon every Twenty Two, and Three Barrels of Beer, upon every Twenty-Three Barrels, are in consideration only of Damage, by Filling up, Yeast, and Wast, in Cleansing; which doth not nei∣ther fully answer: And, in all Places out of this City, the Officers Charge That for ALE, which is really BEER; which is One Eight Part more than the Law re∣quires, to the Oppression of the Country; By which means, the whole Burthen of this Tax is laid upon a Fourth Part of the People; which cannot otherwise be Re∣medied, but by Changing this Duty from Mault-DRINGS, to MAULT; Where∣by every Man will Pay in an equal Propor∣tion, to the Strength and Goodness of what they consume.

IF any should be hereby Discouraged from Brewing their own Drink, the King will be Reprized in the Excise, on the Common Brewer; who will be a conside∣rable Gainer, by the Augmentation of his Trade: Eight Pence laid on every Bushel of MAULT, allowing Three Bushels to every Barrel of BEER, and ALE, (which is all allowed per Barrel for ALE and BEER, of Common Draft and Sale,) will reduce the present Duty from Four Shillings and Nine-pence per Barrel, to Two Shillings; and yet encrease that Revenue to, at least, Twenty-one Hundred Thousand Pounds; which is more than Double, to what it now brings unto the Government; and the Nation considerably Eased, the Number of Officers Lessened, and above a Moiety of the Charge of Collection Saved to the Crown.

IF the Parliament should endeavour to Redress the Grievance and Extortion a∣foresaid, and Regulate the Entries and Charge against the Brewers, according to the true Meaning of the Laws of Excise, it would much abate the Revenue.

IF the Parliament should lay an Additio∣nal Excise on BEER and ALE, the Brew∣ers would have a great Advantage thereby; for, where Nine Pence was added upon a Barrel of Strong BEER and ALE, and Three Pence upon Small, the Excise little Advanced; and, when it was off again, it was little Abated: So that, any Addition to, or Regulation of Excise, as Now it is, will prove of little or no Advantage to the Crown.

THOSE Brewers that wet great Quan∣tities of MAULT, save Five Pounds per Week, by Excise; some more, some less.

THE Duty falling upon the Inferiour Rank of Men (the Nobility, Gentry, and Wealthier Sort, who Brew their own Drink, being exempt) is an Hardship, might as well be extended to their Bread, as to their Drink.

THE Exemption of those that Brew for their Private Use and Consumption, will occasion many to do it, and more will follow the Example; by which the Revenue must be lessened, and precari∣ous.

THAT the Revenue of Excise, as it Now stands, is little better than Precarious, ap∣pears partly from the mysterious Practices of Brewers, very hard, if not impossible, to prevent; who always have it in their Power to Augment or Lessen the same, by Brewing sometimes One, Two, Three, or Four Barrels, out of the same Quantity of MAULT; where they often pay Five Shillings to the Crown, when they ought to account for Ten Shillings; and partly from the encrease of Private Brewing; to which the Temptation will grow, if the Duty be Augmented, unless Restrained by a particular Clause: And should such Private Brewing become a general Practice, the whole Revenue would be entirely lost.

IT is therefore Proposed, That the Du∣ty of Excise may be changed from Mault-DRINKS unto MAULT for the Reasons ensuing:

ALL that Drink, whether Rich or Poor, Brewing for themselves or not, will pay in an equal Proportion, to the Strength and Goodness of what they Consume.

THE Revenue will this way be Encrea∣sed, and yet the People considerably Eased.

THE Duty, thus laid, may be Raised and Collected without Dispute, between the KING, and the People; which will be an equal Service to the Former, and Satisfacti∣on to the Latter.

THE Revenue will thus be fixed, and certain; and not subject to be impaired by any Arts, as now.

AND, Whereas it may be objected, That the Nobility, and Gentry, who keep great Hospitality, will hereby be much Burthened by the Translation of the EX∣CISE to MAULT. For Answer, Since All are equally Interested in, and Concern'd for the Preservation of the Government and Nation, and mutually partake of the Benefit and Good Influence thereof; 'tis but rea∣sonable, All should be brought in to a Com¦mon Avaridge, for Support of the Whole: And this is so far from proving a Da∣mage to An••, (as Some, through Mistake, might imagine) that it will rather turn to their Advantage and Profit: Nor is it Consistent with the Honour and Justice of Government, to Burden One Part of the People, to Ease the Other; that were to lay the Foundation of Government in Ʋn∣righteousness, which wholly Consists in the Equal and Impartial Distribution of Justice towards All: Nor do the People complain so much of the Greatness or Long-continuance of any Tax, as at the Partiality and Inequality thereof, which u∣sually creates Discontent; that, for the most part, ends in Sedition, to the Distur∣bance of Government; which all wise Go∣vernments will endeavour to prevent, by keeping the Body-Politique in a due Tem∣perament or State of Health and Long-Life; for, it is most certain, that when there is no Internal cause of Sedition, there can be no Dissolution of Government, which therefore must be Eternal. More particular∣ly, One Moiety of the Original EXCISE, be∣ing Given the Crown, in Recompense of the Court of Wards, &c. taken away 12 Car. II. in Ease of the said Nobility and Gentry, who were only grieved by that Court; the Equivalent, in Honour, might well enough have been charged upon Themselves, and the People have been quite Exempted; at least, it seems highly Just, that They bear their proportionable Part with the People; which is done by this Expedient.

THAT This is a more equal Tax, and may be managed, without subjecting their Houses to the Inspection of Excise-men; which will obviate the Common Objecti∣on, against Altering the Duty from Mault-DRINKS to MAULT; and the putting the same at Eight Pence per Bushel, will re∣duce the Excise of Drink to Two Shillings per Barrel, which now Pays Four Shillings and Nine Pence; and yet more than dou∣ble the present Revenue; and will be Col∣lected

at a little more than One Third Part of the now Charges; the Sallaries of many Superfluous Officers being saved, a∣mounting to many Thousand Pounds, per Annum: Nor is MAULT, by any Con∣cealment, subject to so many Frauds, it taking up Eighteen or Twenty Days time, after Wetting, before it can be fit for Sale: And the MAULSTERS being, for the most part, Wealthy, the Duty will be Currently Paid, and as well, if not better Secured, as from the BREWERS.

THAT this alone will be a Fund suffici∣ent to take off all Anticipations on this Duty, in the Exchecquer, Excuse a General Excise, and other petit Impositions; as that on Glass, Earthen-ware, Coals, &c. which may be thought grievous; and will serve the Government to support the War, during the Continuance thereof; and help to take in Clipt and Light-Money, and totally free all future Impositions upon Land: One Fourth Part of the said Duty on MAULT, settled on the Crown for ever, will be an Equivalent in Lieu of that part of the Excise, that is Hereditary; and now being settled on the Crown for Ten Years, or during the Continuance of the War, will be found a Fund sufficient for Twenty-One Millions; viz, Raise Two Millions for Ten Years, per Annum; Three Millions the first Seven Years; Four Millions for Five Years; or, Five Millions, per Annum, for Four Years, (besides the ordinary Revenue of the Crown; which may be extinguished in Ten Years) And that such a Settle∣ment for This, or the like Term of Years, to Support and Carry on the War, for some Continuance, will contribute very much to the Abatement of the Pride and Cou∣rage of the Enemy.

FROM the Whole, 'Tis not designed, by this PAPER, to Propose the Laying a New Imposition on Mault, but to Lessen what seems already (tho' not Directly, yet Remotely) Charg'd on it, by reducing the same from Twelve Shillings and Eight-pence, per Quarter, to Five Shillings and Four-pence; for so, in Effect, it now Pays: For Six Bushels, making Two Barrels of BEER and ALE, is Nine Shillings and Six Pence; and the other Two Bushels, be∣ing a Third Part more, is Three Shillings and Two Pence; which makes Twelve Shil∣lings and Eight Pence, per Quarter. And it is humbly submitted, That it may be much better, to Lay an Excise on One Single Commodity, which affects All in General; than a General Excise on all Commodities.

AND to sum up all, I further crave Leave to add, That, by a plain Estimate, the Revenue will equal, if not exceed the Joynt-Income of Custome and Excise, as now they produce; for if the Number of People be rightly computed to be above Eight Millions, allowing to each Two Pecks and a Half per Mensem, and Thirteen Months in the Year, the Number of Quarters a∣mount in the whole to Eight Millions, per Annum; which at Eight Pence per Bushel, or Five Shillings Four Pence per Quarter, is upwards of Twenty-One Hundred Thousand Pounds per Annum; by which Means, the Government may not only totally Free the Nation from all future Impositions on Land, &c. as afore; but also, the War being Ended, Take off all Customs for Import and Export, except of such Goods, where the Duty laid is intended to amount to a Pro∣hibition: This may make England become a Free Port; the Great and Good Effects of which are too many, and too Obvious, to stand in need to be Repeated; and, shall therefore only Instance, That this alone (without any other Effort) will effectually Secure our African and East-India Trade from any, whatsoever, Competitors,

All which is Humbly Offer'd to the Wisdom and Consideration of the Honourable HOUSE of COMMONS.

FINIS.