ALCABALA TAXES PAPAL BULLS. 133 



plunder. The alcabala, an impost upon all purchases and sales, 

 including even the smallest transactions, was perhaps the most 

 burthensome. "Every species of merchandise, whenever it passed 

 from one owner to another, was subject to a new tax ; and 

 merchants, shopkeepers and small dealers, we^e obliged to report 

 the amount of their purchases and sales under oath." From the 

 acquisition of an estate, to the simple sale of butter, eggs, 01 

 vegetables in market, all contracts and persons were subject to 

 this tax, except travellers, clergymen and paupers. Independently 

 of the destruction of trade, which must always ensue from such a 

 system, the reader will at once observe the temptations to vice 

 opened by it. The natural spirit of gain tempts a dealer to cheat 

 an oppressive government by every means in his power. It 

 is therefore not wonderful to find the country filled with con- 

 trabandists, and the towns with dishonest tradesmen. Men who 

 defraud in acts, will lie in words, nor will they hesitate to con- 

 ceal their infamy under the sanction of an oath. Thus was it 

 that the oppressive taxation of Spain became the direct instrument 

 of popular corruption, and, by extending imposts to the minutest 

 ramifications of society, it made the people smugglers, cheats, and 

 perjurers. In addition to the alcabala, there were transit duties 

 through the country, under which, it has been alleged, that Euro- 

 pean articles were sometimes taxed thirty times before they reached 

 their consumer. The king had his royal fifth of all the gold and 

 silver, and his monopolies of tobacco, salt and gunpowder. He 

 often openly vended the colonial offices, both civil and ecclesias- 

 tical. He stamped paper, and derived a revenue from its sale. 

 He affixed a poll tax on every Indian ; and, finally, by the most 

 infamous of all impositions, he derived an extensive revenue from 

 the religious superstition of the people. It was not enough to tax 

 the necessaries and luxuries of life, — things actually in existence 

 and tangible, — but, through a refined alchemy of political inven- 

 tion, he managed to coin even the superstitions of the people, and 

 add to the royal income by the sale of " Bulls de cruzada" — 

 "Bulls de defuntos" — "Bulls for eating milk and eggs during 

 lent" — and "Bulls of composition." Bales upon bales of these 

 badly printed licenses were sent out from Spain and sold by priests 

 under the direction of a commissary. The villany of this scheme 

 may be more evident if we detain the reader a moment in order to 

 describe the character of these spiritual licenses. Whoever pos- 

 sessed a " Bull de cruzada" might be absolved from all crimes 

 except heresy ; nor, could he be suspected even of so deadly a sin, 



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