EXCISE. 
673 
the Romans, and were established in Italy,. 
Spain, France, and Holland, long before they 
were known in this country. The first 
attempt to introduce this species of taxation 
into England was in the year 1626, but it 
was not actually established till 1643, when 
the long parliament laid an excise duty on 
beer, ale, and other liquors, with a solemn 
declaration that at the end of the war all 
excises should be abolished. The example 
■was immediately followed by the king and 
parliament ot Oxford, who established similar 
excise duties, and the contest continuing 
longer than was expected, this mode of 
levying money was extended to bread, meat, 
salt, and many other necessary articles. The 
excise on bread and meat was afterwards 
repealed, but the duties on beer and ale were 
continued, and after the Restoration were 
granted to Charles 2d, during his life ; from 
whose death they were continued, under the 
title of the temporary excise, to the different 
sovereigns, during their respective lives, as a 
part of the civil list revenue ; but they are 
now placed on the same footing as all the 
other permanent taxes, being made perpetual, 
and the produce carried to tiie consolidated 
fund. The hereditary excise was a duty of 
fifteen pence per barrel upon beer and ale, 
and a proportionate sum upon other liquors 
sold in the kingdom, and was granted to 
Charles 2d, his heirs and successors for ever, 
as a compensation for the profits oi the feudal 
privileges of wardship and purveyance then 
abolished by act of parliament. These two 
branches, which comprehended all the excise 
duties existing at the Revolution, produced on 
an average 610,486/. yearly. During the 
reign of William 3d, the excise was extended 
to salt, additional duties were laid on beer 
and ale, and an excise duty on malt, which 
has since been granted annually, was esta- 
blished. I11 the reign of queen Anne, 
candies, hides and skins, vellum and parch- 
ment, paper and pasteboards, soap, starch, 
hops, and some other articles, were subjected 
to excise duties. In the reign of George 1st, 
the excise duties, with all other taxes which 
had been granted for terms of years, were 
made perpetual, a duty was laid on wrought 
plate, and the principal part of the duties on 
tea, coffee, and chocolate, was transferred 
from the customs to the excise. During the 
reign of George 2d, considerable additions 
were made to the excise duties, by licences, 
a duty on glass, and new duties on spirituous 
liquors, coffee, chocolate, and malt , an 
attempt was made by sir R. Walpole to 
transfer the duties on wines and tobacco from 
the customs to the excise, but the measure 
being thought introductory to a general 
excise, it experienced great opposition, and 
was abandoned. Since that period, numerous 
additional duties have been imposed on all 
the articles subject to the excise, with which 
the increased consumption caused by the 
progress of population and luxury, has ren- 
dered this source of revenue so productive, 
that it is not surprising those who have had 
the management of the public finances should 
have become partial to it, though it lias 
always been an obnoxious mode of taxation 
to the public. The total gross amount raised 
in England by excise duties, in the year 
ending 5th of January, 1805, will appear by 
the following account. 
£ 
Auctions — 181,126 
Beer — - — — 2^8/8^830 
Bricks and tiles 226, 2Q3 
Candles' — 299,479 
Goachmakers 274 
Cocoa nuts and coffee — 86,801 
Cyder and perry 19-,868 
Glass * — 293,640 
Hides and skins 281,210 
Hops — 432,178 
Licences — — 290,094 
Malt — 1,147,937 
Metheglin or mead ; 189 
Paper 3 — 317,380 
Printed goods — 686,9/ 1 
Salt - - 1,097,151 
Soap 526,028 
Spirits, British — 1,267,423 
Ditto, foreign — 1,482,052 
Starch — 54,196 
Sweets — 26,985 
Tea — 968,199 
Tobacco and snuff 187,302 
Verjuice — ?7 
Vinegar — — — • 23,754 
Wine — 569,770 
Wire — 8,272 
Total consolidated duties £ 13,353,389 
Temporary war taxes. 
Malt ’ 2,878,254 
Wine — — 435,785 
Sweets 4,039 
Spirits, British — — 621,566 
Ditto, foreign 736,451 
Tea 1,010,842 
Total war taxes • — £ 5,686,937 
Annual duties. 
Tobacco and snuff * 430,148 
Malt, additional — — 927,534 
Malt, old — 587,635 
Total annual duties — ■ <£1,945,317 
These sums, making together upwards of 
twenty millions, are, however, subject to 
several deductions, such as the expences of 
collection, the drawbacks allowed on ex- 
portation, bounties on beer, British spirits, 
and fish exported, pensions to the duke of 
Grafton and others charged on -t his particular 
branch of the public revenue, sundry allow- 
ances and repayments. 
Abstract of the total receipt. 
Balance remaining on the ) , - 443 
5 tli of January, 1804 ) 
Received on consolidated) j3 353 339 
duties ) 
temporary ) 5^937 
war taxes ) 
annual duties 1 ,945,3 1 7 
£ 21,001,092 
By charges of management 545,256 
— taxes repaid to officers 31,729 
— exports — — 801,028 
— allowances — - 60,700 
4 Q 
By bounties on fish ex- > 
ported, Ac, ) 
— overcharges, repay- ) 
meats, &c. ) 
— annual payment toofii- 3 
cers ©f the late wine ( 
licence office, and of C 
the late salt duties ) 
— pensions — 
— payments into the ex- ) 
chequer £ 
— balance remaining on ) 
5th January, 1805 $ 
£ 20,002 
38,180 
12,214 
14,000 
19,448,143 
29,837 
£21,001,092 
The articles on which excise duties are 
collected in Scotland are nearly the same as 
in England, with some little variations in the 
rates at which the duties are imposed ; the 
produce for the year ending 5th of January, 
1805, was as follows: 
Abstract of the total receipt. 
Balance remaining on the ) 
5th of January, 1804 ) 
Received on permanent ) 
duties 5 
temporary } 
62,889 
1,049,324 
war taxes 
annual duties 
328,715 
106,629 
£ 1,547,557 
By charges of management 
• — exports — 
— allowances' 
— disbursements out of ) 
the net produce 5 
— remittances to London 
— balance remaining on ) 
5 th January, 1805 j 
126,070 
82,538 
10,462 
93,075 
1,158,000 
72,412 
£ 1,547,557 
Produce of the duties of excise in Ireland 
for the year ending 5th January, 1805. 
On auctions — — 
— glass bottles 
— coffee — — 
— hides, leather, &c. 
— paper-hangings — 
— writing-paper & parch- ) 
ment ) 
— wines, mead, and vine- ) 
gar (home-made) ) 
— wines, foreign 
— sugar — — 
— strong waters 
— tobacco — — 
— licences — 
£ 1,384,873 
In England the excise duties are collected 
at an expence of only £ 2 165. l£. per cent, 
on the gross revenue, or £ 3 Ad. per cent, on 
the net produce ; but the expence of collec- 
tion in Scotland amounts to £ 7 8s. 6 d. per 
cent, on the gross revenue, or £8 10s. 6d. 
per cent, on the net produce. In Ireland 
the management of the excise duties is united 
with the customs, and the expence of the 
whole amounts to £ 1 1 3s, 3d. per cent, oa 
the net revenue. 
5,454 
1,471 
487 
38,541 
323,623 
1,376 
10,940 
345 
48,895 
1,533 
736,757 
144,122 
71,324 
VOL. I. 
