’ 
1808.] 
with respect to the collection of the Assessed 
‘Taxes, and he thought that by a similar 
arrangement in the collection of the stamp 
duties, a further sum of 20,0001. might be 
gained. These sums taken together would 
make a total of 770,o00l. which exceeds 
by 20,000]. the sum that would be neces- 
sary to cover the interests of the loan, and 
of the four millions of Exchequer bills. He 
proposed in some respects to make additions 
to the stamp duties, but in so doing, he by 
no means intended to abandon altogether that 
principle which had been adopted in the last 
Session of suspending the course of taxation 
for two or three years and looking principally 
to the war taxes. The additional stamp du- 
ties which he should propose would, he trust- 
ed, not be considered as burdensome, and 
would rather be considerad as a regulation and 
an arrangement thanan increase of duties. He 
should propose an equalization of the stamp 
duties on deeds in Scotland, by adopting some- 
what of the ad valorem principle. He wished 
also to alter the duties now paid on admission 
into offices. The present duty was 20). with- 
out regard tothe value or amount of the of- 
fice. He wished that every office under 60l. 
annually should be entirely exempted, those 
from 60. to 15o0l. to pay 81. those from rsol. 
to 3001. to pay 2ol. and a higher duty for the 
admission into offices of greater value. He 
proposed that the duty on indentures of at- 
tornies and solicitors, who were to practise in 
the superior courts, should be rol. and the 
duties on those in the inferior courts, as well 
as the writers to the signet in Scorland, 
should be 551. He proposed that the duty on 
feofiments should be raised from 11. tos. to 
31. which was the same as deeds of lease and 
release are now liable to. 
The next duty which he should propose 
was, a small duty on those promissory notes 
which were re-issued. This duty would prin- 
Cipally affect country bank notes; and it was 
not unreasonable that the public should in 
some degree participate in the profits which 
were made by the country banks. There 
are many of those notes which were not pay- 
able in London, or in any other place, but 
that where they were issued, which occasioned 
a great deal of inconvenience. He meant 
therefore to propose a higher rate of duty on 
those notes which were only payable at the 
place where they were issued, than upon those 
which were payable in London. — He should 
propose four-pence on a pound note of the 
former description, and three-pence on that 
of the latter. He thought there might also 
be a small additional duty on the transfer of 
stock shares, which were now made accord- 
ing to the nominal value. As to law pro- 
ceedings, they were at present burdened with 
such high taxes, that he was unwilling to 
charge them with any additional duties; there 
were, however, one or two slight additional 
duties which he thought they might bear. 
He should propose, therefore, a duty of one 
shilling on every summons before a master in 
- ~ 
State of Public Affairs in Apri. 
359 
chancery. As to conveyances of land, which 
now bore a duty of thirty shillings generally, 
he should propose a duty of twenty shillings 
on every conveyance of land, the value of 
which did not exceed rsol. From fsol. to 
3001. he should propose thirty shillings ; from 
gool, to Sool. fifty shillings ; and from that 
upwards, at a rate not exceeding twenty shil- 
lings for every tool. After a few general 
observations, he concluded by moving his 
first resolution, 
The following letter, received from Capt, 
Parker, of the Stately, dated off Zealands 
Odde,' March 25, 1808, records the de- 
struction of the last ship but one of the 
Danish navy. 
‘¢Sir—IJt is with much satisfaction I have 
the honour to acquaint you with the capture 
and destruction of the Danish ship of the 
line, Prince Christian Frederick, of 74 guns. 
Proceeding towards the Great Belt, in 
company with his Majesty’s ship Nassau, 
at two P.M. on the 22d instant, we observed 
a strange sail; and the signal being made to 
chage, at four P.M. Greenall on the coast of 
Jutland bearing N.W. by N. distant ten 
miles, we discovered that it was an enemy 5 
and at five P.M. ascertained the chace to be 
a Danish ship of the line. I now saw that 
it was evidently the intention of the enemy 
to run his ship on shore; and_as the night 
was approaching he might hope, that, in our 
pursuit of him in the dark, we should have 
the same fate. This I have since been as- 
sured was his design. At forty-five minutes 
past seven P.M. Captain Campbell, in the 
Nassau, got up with the enemy, and com- 
menced the action, and in a few minutes af- 
ter the Stately closed; a running fight was 
now maintained for a considerable time, the 
enemy fighting with great obstinacy, until 
we succeeded in getting very near, and gave 
some close broadsides, on which he struck 
about half past nine P.M. At this moment 
the ships were within two cables’ length of 
the shore of Zealand; and before my first 
lieutenant, who took possession of the Da- 
nish ship, could cut away her anchor, she 
grounded. Fortunately this ship and the 
Nassau brought up near to her. During the 
remaining part of the night we were eme 
ployed in taking out the prisoners; and at 
day-light of the 23d it was found impossible 
to get the captured ship afloat, the wind 
blowing strong on the shore, and that there- 
fore the only course 1 could follow was to 
destroy her. The necessity for doing this, 
and for placing our own ships out of danger, 
soon became apparent, as the Danes were 
preparing their artillery on the coast, and as 
our ships were at anchor only two cables? 
length from the breach, they would have 
done us great injury. After removing the 
prisoners and wounded, in doing which we 
experienced much difficulty from the wind 
blowing strong, and a good deal of sea rune 
ning, the enemy’s ship was set on fire in the 
evening 
