GENERAL HISTORY. 



[105 



kinds. The duties upon houses 

 and windows, in particular, he 

 considered as the most burden- 

 some to which tlie country was 

 exposed, and to those duties he 

 proposed to add nothing. But 

 tlieie were others wiiich had an 

 operation similar to that of sump- 

 tuary laws, and which, arising out 

 of a voluntary expenditure, might 

 admit of a reasonable increase, 

 without much objection. — In this 

 class he included the duties on 

 men-servants, carriages, horses, 

 dogs, and the sports of the field ; 

 and these would be the objects of 

 his intended incre;ise of duties. 

 As the proposed scale would in a 

 few days be printed and in every 

 gentleman's hando, he should not 

 take up the time of the commit- 

 tee by a minute detail ; but point 

 out the leading article in each 

 class, by which a judgment might 

 be formed. The existing duty 

 on a person keeping one male 

 servant was 21. 4s. He proposed 

 to add four shillings, making the 

 duty 21. 8s. On occasional gar- 

 deners he should propose a similar 

 duty of four shillings. Mercantile 

 agents or riders to commercial 

 houses now pay 1/. 8s. He pro- 

 posed that they should pay 21. 

 On stewards and overseers, who 

 had hitherto escaped notice, he 

 should propose a similar rate of 

 21. Porters employed by persons 

 in trade now paid a duty of 1/. 4a'. 

 He propos-ed that they should pay 

 2/.and that the samerate should take 

 place with respect to stage coach- 

 men, and other drivers of car- 

 riages, except domestic servants 

 and those engaged in husbandry. 

 On occasional waiters, whether 

 employed at taverns or at private 

 houses, he should [»ropose a duty 



of 1/. and 5 this would remove a 

 difficulty which he knew existed 

 in the minds of many persons with 

 respect to the propriety of includ- 

 ing individuals of the last class, 

 who perhaps had been only em- 

 ployed for a small number of 

 days in the year, as servants in 

 their general returns to the tax 

 office. 



He should however propose that 

 this duty should not attach on any 

 attendant hired less than six times 

 in the year, to avoid too great a 

 pressure upon any occasional ex- 

 traordinary hospitality. — Servants 

 employed principally in agricul- 

 ture, but sometimes for domestic 

 purposes, now paid a duty of six 

 shillings. He proposed that, like 

 the occasional gardeners, they 

 should pay four more. The whole 

 amount of the increased duties on 

 male servants he calculated at 

 155,000/. 



He would proceed to the con- 

 sideration of the duty on carnages. 

 A single four wheeled carriage now 

 paid 11/. 5*. He proposed that 

 it should pay 12/. and so in propor- 

 tion to the present progressive 

 scale, for a larger number. The 

 produce of this increase, and of 

 a proportionate increase on two- 

 wheeled carriages would be39,000/. 

 — Horses kept for pleasure now 

 paid a duty of 21. 135. 6rf. He 

 proposed an addition of 4*. making 

 a duty of 21. 175. Gd. 



He was next bound to state that 

 he deemed it necessary to increase 

 the duty upon horses employed 

 in husbandry by 35. 6rf. each 

 horse, and though he was aware 

 that many objections were enter- 

 tained to the principle of the tax, 

 he thought the proposed additional 

 rate could hardly be complained 



of. 



