RET 
REV 
REV 
reeled to them. This is wrote on the back 
of the writ by the officer, who thus sends the 
writ back to the court from whence it issued, 
in order that it may lie tiled. 2. Return of 
a commission is a certificate or answer sent 
to tin; court from whence the commission 
issues, concerning what has been done by the 
commissioners. 3. Returns, or dues in bank, 
are certain days in each term, appointed for 
the return of writs, & c. Thus Hilary term 
lias four returns, viz. in the king’s bench, on 
the day next after the octave, or eighth dav 
after Hilary day : on the day next after the 
fifteenth day from St. Ililarv : on the dav 
after the purification : and on the next after 
the octave of the purification. In Hie com- 
mon pleas, in eight days of St. Hilary : from 
the day of St. Hilary in fifteen days: on 
the day after the purification : in eight davs 
of the purification. Easter term has live re- 
turns, viz, in the king’s bench, on the day- 
next after the fifteenth day from Easter : on 
the day next after one month from Easter: 
on the day next after five weeks from Easter: 
and on the day next after the day following 
ascension-day. In the common pleas, in til- 
teen days from the feast of Easter : in three 
weeks from the feast of Easter : in one 
month from Easter day : in live weeks 
from Easter day : on the day after the 
ascension-clay. Trinity term has four re- 
turns, viz. on the day following the second 
day after Trinity : on the day following the 
eighth day after Trinity : on the day next 
after the fifteenth day from Trinity : on the 
day next after three weeks from Trinity. In 
the common pleas, on the day after Trinity : 
in eight days of Trinity : in fifteen days from 
Trinity : in three weeks from Trinity. Mi- 
chaelmas term has six returns, viz. on the 
day next after three weeks from St. Michael : 
on the day next after one month of St. Mi- 
chael : on the day following the second day 
after All-souls : on the day next after the 
second day after St. Martin : on the clay 
following the octave of St. Martin : on the 
day next after 15 days of St. Martin. In the 
common pleas, in three weeks from St. Mi- 
chael : in one month from St. Michael : on 
the day after All-souls : on the day after St. 
Martin : on the octave of St. Martin : in fif- 
teen days from St. Martin. It is to be ob- 
served, that, as in the king’s bench, all re- 
turns are to be made on some particular day 
‘ of the week in each term, care must betaken 
not to make the writs out of that court return- 
able on a non-judicial day; such as Sunday, 
and All-saints, in Michaelmas term, the pu- 
rification in Hilary, the ascension in Easter, 
and Midsummer-day except it should fall 
oil the first day of Trinity term. 
RETURNO habendo or Returnum 
averiorum, h a writ which lies for a person 
who has avowed a distress by him made, 
and proved the same to be lawfully taken, 
for returning to him the cattle distrained 
which were before replevied by the party 
distrained upon surety given to prosecute. 
RETURNUM irreplegiab-iee, a writ 
for the final return of cattle to the owner, 
when found to be unjustly distrained. 
RETZI A, a genus of the monogynia order, 
in the pentandria class of plants, and in the 
29th natural order, campanaceae. The cap- 
sule is bilocular ; the corolla cylindrical, and 
villous without ; the stigma bifid. There is 
one species of the Cape, frutescent. 
REVE, Reeve, or Greve, the bailiff of 
a franchise, or manor, thus called, especially 
in tiie west of England. Hence shire-reve, 
sheriff, port-greve, &c. 
REVEILLE, a beat of drum about break 
of day, to give notice that it is time for the 
soldiers to arise, and that the sentries are to 
forbear challenging. 
REV ELS, entertainments of dancing, 
masking, acting comedies, farces, &c. anti- 
enily very frequent in the inns of court, and 
in noblemen’s houses, but now disused. The 
officer who has the direction of the revels 
at court, is called the master of the revels. 
REVENUE, public, the yearly income 
appropriated to the expences of government. 
1 here are four different sources of public 
revenue: 1. The income derived from pro- 
perty vested in the public. 2. The emolu- 
ments of lucrative prerogatives annexed to 
the sovereignty. 3. Voluntary contributions 
from the people. 4. 'faxes or imposts, not 
spontaneously given, but legally exacted, 
from one or other of these great sources 
all public revenue must arise. 
The revenue of the kings of England con- 
sisted formerly of various branches which 
were inherited as the patrimony of the crown. 
Of these, the rents and profits of the demesne 
lands of the crown might alone have furnish- 
ed a very considerable income, as there 
are few estates in the country which have 
not at some period or other since the Con- 
quest been in the hands of the king. The 
custody of the lay revenues, lands, and tene- 
! ments, of bishoprics during their vacancy, 
and of the temporalities of such abbeys as 
were of royal foundation, was made a pro- 
ductive source of revenue by some of the 
kings, who kept the sees a long time vacant 
to enjoy their income ; Elizabeth kept the 
see of Ely vacant nineteen years for this 
purpose. First fruits and tenths of the liv- 
ings of the clergy, were originally paid to 
the pope; but upon the destruction of his 
authority in England, were demanded by the 
king as his successor in clerical supremacy. 
The other branches of the antient revenue 
were, the profits of the military tenures ; 
with the right of purveyance and pre-emp- 
tion ; and a claim to all property of which 
no other person had any legal pretension, 
such as treasure-trove or money-plate, or 
bullion found hidden in the earth ;’ deodands, 
and forfeitures of lands and goods for offences ; 
waifs, or goods stolen and thrown away by 
the thief in his flight ; estrays, or valuable 
animals found wandering and the owner un- 
known ; goods wrecked, if no proof could be 
made within a certain space of time who 
were the legal proprietors ; the right to mines 
of silver and gold; and to certain fish, as 
whales and sturgeons, when either thrown on 
shore, or caught near the coast. These, with 
fines and forfeitures of various descriptions, 
and fees to the crown in a variety ot legal 
matters, composed the ordinary revenue of 
the kings of England ; but in the times of 
war, and on other occasions of extraordinary 
expence, it became necessary to .have re- 
course to more general and efficient modes 
of raising money. The taxes thus occasion- 
ally collected were denominated Danegeldor 
Dane-money, escuage or scutage, hydage, 
talliage, tenths and fifteenths, and subsidies. 
Subsidies fell into disuse during the civil wars 
57.5 
in the rc-ign of Charles I. when the parlia- 
ment introduced weekly and monthly assess* 
ments at a fixed sum upon each county, 
which were levied by a pound-rate both upon 
lands and personal estates. r l he scutages, 
hydage, talliage, subsidies, and periodical as- 
sessments, were all properly land-taxes, 
though not so generally known under that 
name as the more general imposition by 
which they have been superseded. 
On the restoration of Charles II. it was 
deemed expedient to abolish the feudal rights 
and profits of wardship, marriage, livery, and 
purveyance: the propriety of this measure 
was generally acknowledged ; and in order 
to make up the deficiency it would occasion 
iu the king’s revenue, an excise duty of lii- 
teen pence per barrel upon all beer and ale,, 
and a proportionable sum upon other liquors 
sold in the kingdom, was established. Excise 
duties had been introduced by the Long Par- 
liament: about the same time also, consider- 
able additions were made to the revenue of 
the customs ; the post-office was established 
on a permanent footing, forming a new and 
very beneficial branch of public income; 
the land-tax was adopted on very nearly the 
plan on which it is at present assessed ; and 
many improvements were made in other 
branches of the revenue. From this period 
the progress of the public revenue has been 
very rapid. The depreciation of the value of 
money, and the consequent advance in the 
price of all articles of consumption; the 
greater military and naval establishments 
which are kept up, and the accumulation of 
public debts for which an annual interest 
must be paid ; have increased in an astonish- 
ing degree the sum requisite for defraying, 
the yearly expences. of government. 
Sir John Sinclair, in bis History of the 
Public Revenue, gives the following view of 
its amount at the commencement of each 
reign t 
Yean Annual income. 
William the Conqueror, 
William Rufus 
1066 
1087 
Henry I. 
- 
1100 
Stephen 
- 
1 135 
Henrv II. . 
_ 
1154. 
Richard I. 
_ 
1189 
John 
- 
1199 
Henry 111.. 
- 
1214 
Edward I. 
- 
1272. 
Edward II. 
— 
'1307 
Edward II L 
- 
1347 
Richard II. 
- 
1377. 
Henry IV. 
... 
1399 
Henry V. 
— 
1413 
Henry VI. 
-- 
1422 
Edward IV. 
1460) 
Edward V. 
- 
1483 ' 
Richard Iff. 
- 
1483 ) 
Henry VII. 
- 
1485 
Henry VIII. 
.. 
.1509 
Edward VI. 
1547 
Mary 
- 
1553 
Elizabeth 
- 
1558 
James 1. 
- 
1602 
Charles I. 
- 
1625 
The Commonwealth > 
Charles 11. C 
1643 | 
James II. 
1684 
William IIL. 
1688 
Queen Anne 
- 
1706 
George I_. 
* 
1714 
o£'4G0,Q00 
350.000 
300.000 
250.000 
200,000- 
150.000- 
1 00.000 
80,000 
150.000 
100.000- . 
154,139 
130,00jj 
100.000 , 
76,643 
64,976 
100,000 
400.000 
800.000 
400.000 
450.000 
500.000 
600.000 
895,810,- 
1,317,247 
1,800,000 
2.001,855 
3,895,205 
5,691,803 
6,762,64.1 
