GENERAL HISTORY. 



[103 



extensive, yet of luxurious rather 

 than necessary use, and one which 

 afforded the best criterion of its 

 ability to bear an additional tax, 

 namely, that the consumption of it 

 went on progressively increasing 

 tinder the present duties. He did 

 not see any reason to believe ihat 

 this proposed addition would either 

 diminish the consumption or ma- 

 terially increase the frauds upon 

 this article ; and estimating the 

 produce on an average similar to 

 those of the former articles, he 

 should take it at 107,000/. 



His next proposition would be 

 not for a tax absolutely new, but 

 for a certain regulation of the duty 

 on property sold by auction. It 

 was well known to the committee 

 that estates or other kinds of pro- 

 perty were frequently put up to 

 auction, not for the purpose of a 

 fair sale, but of ascertaining their 

 value with a view to a private 

 bargain. They were then bought 

 in, by which the duty was avoid- 

 ed ; and afterwards disposed of by 

 private contract, at a price founded 

 upon the biddings which had 

 taken place. It was his wish, as 

 it certainly had been the intention 

 of the legislature, that all persons 

 who obtained the benefit of the 

 competition arising in a public 

 sale, should be subject to the 

 charge which had been imposed 

 upon that advantage. It was, 

 therefore, his intention to propose 

 that property pnt up to auction 

 should be charged with the duty, 

 whether actually sold or bought 

 in ; but that, in case it should ap- 

 pear, at the end of twelve months, 

 to continue to belong to its origi- 

 nal owner, the duty should be 

 repaid. In property of large 

 amount it might indeed be reason- 



able that the owner should, instead 

 of paying down the duty in the 

 first instance, be permitted to give 

 security for it, and regulations to 

 this effect might be introduced in 

 the bill. It wiis also well known 

 that many articles, particularly im- 

 ported merchandize, were exempt- 

 ed from the duty, although sold by 

 public au<;tion. He understood it 

 was a common practice to mingle 

 in sales such privileged goods with 

 those which were not privileged ; 

 by which means frauds on the re- 

 venue were frequently practised. 

 He should therefore propose that 

 when any goods liable to duty 

 were introduced into a sale of 

 goods which were exempted from 

 it, the whole should be immediate- 

 ly rendered chargeable with the 

 duty. The committee were aware 

 that, from the nature of the case, 

 nothing like an accurate estimate 

 could be formed of the produce of 

 these regulations. On a due con- 

 sideration of all the circumstances 

 of the case, Mr. Perceval had 

 thought that it would not be over- 

 stated at 100,000/. and he (the 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer) saw 

 no reason to form a different 

 opinion. 



The articles which he had hi- 

 therto enumerated, except the 

 bounty on printed goods, were 

 all duties of excise. The next 

 branch of the revenue to which 

 he should resort, was one which he 

 should have been glad to avoid, if 

 the largeness of the total sum to 

 be raised had not rendered it ne- 

 cessary to diffuse the burden as 

 extensively as possible. It was on 

 the postage of letters. — He should 

 recommend an addition of a penny 

 on every single letter carried more 

 than twenty miles, whether from 



the 



