194 observations on the salt laws. J^JjtU 4. 



Should the commifsioners have as much sense as to see the 

 impropriety of this requisition and disregard it, the 



tliat the public will scarcely believe that an attempt can be made to re- 

 form any kind of abuse from other motives. Hence it haa become a very 

 urgracious talk to point out errors that require to be corrected : The ti- 

 mid 'xUl not, and those of doubtful character dare not expose themselves 

 to the obloquy which that would occasion. Thus it happens that great 

 political abusLS remain unknown, for ages especially in the distant parts of 

 the kingdom. It will probably be supposed that I bear no good will ta 

 ♦ he superior revenue olEcers, and wifti to hurt them; but this is far from 

 being the case. 1 know indeed that the revenue boards are the greatest 

 curse that Scotland knows, and that nothing would tend so much to Dene- 

 fit this country, as to remove them from it entirely, and put us under the 

 same government in this respect with Engi nd ; but this arises from the 

 nature of the institution itself, not from the men who hold the offices. 

 Th^ are indeed more the objects of pity than of blame; for, like the E- 

 gyptian tafkmasters of old, it is expected they ftiould cause the people 

 under them produce brjcks without straw. ■ And if they cannot su'ci.e:d 

 in this vain attempt, they are accused of negligence in the discharge of 

 their duty, and are in danger of losing their office; for small as their sa- 

 laries are, and frittered away, next to nothing in many cases, by privare 

 pensions, to people who are technically named riders, they have the additi- 

 onal mortification of holding their places by a very precarious tenure, (the 

 death of any one member of a revenue board vacating the cemmilsions of 

 the whole.) They are, therefore, in the strictest sense of the words, " men 

 under authority , having others under them, who may say unto one mango, 

 and he gocth, to another man come, and he cometh, and to a third nun do 

 this , and he doeth it." All this they can do with the utmost e.ise, 'zuben 

 it is to cpprefs the people ; but if they were to attempt to relieve them, the 

 case is greatly altered. Tl.ousinds of accusations would then be lodged 

 against them for being lax in collecting the revenue; and these accusati- 

 ons would be lodged before men who are ever ready to credit such reports 

 upon the slightest foundation, and who could not be brought to listen to 

 reason were it offered to them. The revenue boards are required to ex- 

 plain laws that are in many C2«es inexplicable-. They are required to exe- 

 cute laws that cannot be carried into execution. [A law stands on the sta- 

 tute book at present, respecting the revenue, which contains many clauses 

 that are to be executed on^the thirty-first day of November !!!1 



In all these inexplicable cases, they have only one rule they can safely 

 follow, vis. to construe the act In .the most unfavourable way they cafl 



