CUSTOMS. 
ther with respect to its value, its bulk, its 
weight, or its number ; and by proceeding 
repeatedly in this manner, the numerous ad- 
ditions made at length became such a mass 
of confusion as produced an infinity of in- 
convenience and delay in business, and be- 
came the subject of universal complaint 
among mercantile persons. From the great 
complexity of the whole of this branch of 
the revenue, arising from the multiplicity of 
duties, which, being appropriated to separate 
funds, were obliged to be kept distinct, 
scarcely any merchant could ascertain, by 
calculations of his own, the duties he was to 
pay, but was left in a great measure at the 
mercy of the ofiicers of the . customs, who 
from being intended as a check upon the 
merchants, thus became their agents. 
The Commissioners pf Accounts, appoint- 
ed in the year 1780, in their IStli, 14th, and 
15th, reports, the last of which was dated 
19th December 1786, have given a full ex- 
planation of the constitution of this depart- 
ment pf the revenue, the duties of its several 
officers, and the mode of collecting it both 
in London and the out-ports. They also 
pointed out a variety of important regula- 
tions for retrenchment of expense, reduc- 
tion of the establishment, and accommoda- 
tion of tlie merchants, most of which have 
since been carried into effect, But the 
most extensive and useful measure recom- 
mended by them was a consolidation of all 
the existing duties, by the substitution of 
one single duty on each article, amounting 
as nearly as possible to the aggegate of all 
the various duties then payable. This was 
effected in 1787 by an act 27 Geo. III. cap. 
13, by which the accounts of the custom- 
house were much simplified, and the rates 
of duty rendered intelligible to all persons 
affected by them. 
In the year 1797 eight new branches of 
duties had been created since the consoli- 
dation, which made it necessary to keep so 
many new and distinct accounts. At this 
time the number of articles subject to the 
custom duties amounted to not less than 
1200, not more than 160 of which appear 
upon the annual accounts presented to par- 
liament, as yielding the sum of lOOOl. and 
upwards j the remaining 1040 are classed 
together under the general head of “sundry 
small articles,” and did not produce, in the 
whole, more than from 85,0001. to 110,0001. 
per annum ; each of these articles, neverthe- 
less, had some special regulation belonging 
to it, and the accumulated mass of these 
details had, in the opinion of the Select 
Committee on Finance, rendered the whole 
system much too complex. Tliat this 
opinion wsis well founded will be admitted 
fiom the circumstance, that the statutes 
relative to the customs, alone, make six 
very large volumes in folio. 
In the year 1803 the customs were again 
consolidated by 43 Geo. III. cap. 68 ; but 
additional duties have been since imposed, 
which will render it necessary to have re- 
course again to this useful measure at a 
future period. 
Total gross receipt of the Customs of Great Britain, in the year ending 5th of January, 
1807, with the payments to which it was subject, and the nett amount paid into the 
Exchequer. 
s. d. 
Balance in the hands of the different Collectors on the 5th I g 
of January, 1806 3 ’ 
Balance in the hands of the Receiver General of Scotland 54,657 3 8i 
Bills arising and remitted out of the revenue of 1805, but ? ggg gj 
not brought to account till 1806 3 ’ * ■ 
Gross receipt of permanent and temporary duties within ? ggg 
the year S ’ ’ *_ 
Total 
, .£12,769,244 0 4i 
