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[pages 66-84 1792 Report of Commissioners of Inquiry]
THE Distribution of the Subject Matter appertaining to this Branch of our inquiries, under certain leading and comprehensive Heads, will, we think, conduce. to Method and Perspicuity.
Those with that View adopted are as follow:
1st, The Receipt and Expenditure.
2d, The Establishments of the Customs.
3d, The System of Duties.
4th, Illicit Practices.
5th, Proposals for the Relief or Benefit of the Inhabitants in respect of Trade,
Pursuing this general Plan of Arrangement, we shall, as the component Parts thereof become successively the Objects of Consideration, introduce the Materials, Information, or Suggestions, which seem best to admit of being so classed.
1st, RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE.
THE Receipt and Expenditure in the Isle of Man, to which our Attention is directed, pass through the Hands of the Receiver General and Collector of 'the Revenues of the Island. We required of that Officer his last annual Account of Receipts and Payments: The Return made to this Requisition includes the Total Receipt of one Year, from the 5th Day of January 1790, to the 5th Day of January 1791, amounting to the Sum of Three Thousand and Sixteen Pounds Eight Shillings and Eleven Pence. This Total is raised by Collections at different Ports, and the Proportions contributed by them severally stand thus: Douglas, Two Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-three Pounds and Ten Pence One Halfpenny. Derby Haven, One Hundred and Four Pounds Nine Shillings and Five Pence Three Farthings. Peel, Thirty-one Pounds Nineteen Shillings and Two Pence One Farthing. And Ramsay, Eighty-six Pounds Nineteen Shillings and Four Pence One Halfpenny.
The total Amount of the Disbursements in this Account is, Three Thousand Two Hundred and Seventy-two Pounds Two Shillings and Two Pence,
Mr Senhouse Wilson, the Deputy Receiver General, informed us of the Manner in which the Sums, forming the Receipt Side of the Account, came into his Possession.
At the End of each Quarter, an Account is made out by the Collectors and Comptrollers of the Customs, or the Officers acting as such, at the different Ports of the Island, containing the Articles imported and exported within the Period of that Quarter, and the Duties which have arisen on Imports, there being none on. Exports of Goods carried Coastwise.
[24] These Accounts, signed by those Officers, are delivered to the Deputy Receiver General. The Duties so collected are received by him, not at any stated Periods, but monthly or quarterly as may happen. Sometimes he takes the whole of the Duties from the Collector, sometimes a Residue is left in their Custody, but the Balance, always withdrawn at the End of the Quarter. He disposes of the Collections thus paid in to him: in the following Way:
He retains such Portion thereof as he judges may be necessary to defray the various Charges to which this Revenue is liable in the Island, and remits the Surplus to the Agent for the Receiver General when the Quarter is expired: And this Remittance, he informed us, is so made, in consequence of Directions given by the Agent, grounded on a Power of Attorney from the Receiver General, whereby the Agent is authorized to call upon him for the Surplusage of the Duties above the Demands thereon, with the Revenue Accounts and Vouchers, and to transact all Business in respect thereof at the Treasury, and the Office for auditing the public Accounts.
The Payments contained in this Account are either to Officers in the Civil or Revenue Departments; incidental on the Head of Customs or Bounties upon Herrings.
The Authorities for paying the Civil Officers and the Receiver General their Salaries, are Warrants of His Majesty; the Revenue Officers upon the Establishments, Treasury Constitutions or Warrants; and those appointed by the Receiver General, either permanently or occasionally, the Practice of the late Receiver General.
The Article of Stationary is not taken under any fixed Allowance, but procured by the Deputy Receiver General, for the Use of the several Custom-Houses, as wanted: At the End of every Quarter the Stationer's Bill is paid, and transmitted to the Agent, with the Account of Incidents. For any other Incidental Payments the 4uthority is the Practice of the Port.
The Bounties are paid pursuant to the Directions of the Acts of Parliament whereby they are granted.
The Officers in the Civil Line are paid their Salaries annually, the Revenue Officers quarterly; a Distinction for which no Cause was assigned.
The Receipts and Payments in the foregoing Account comprehend all those which relate to the Customs Duties. Two other Funds exist in the Island, coming within the Province of the Receiver General, distinct from the Customs in their Origin, Collection, Mode of Account, and Application; namely, the Harbour Duties, and the Herring Custom and Bay Fisheries,
The Harbour Fund arises from certain Dues on Vessels and Goods, levied under the Authority of an Act of the Eleventh of his present Majesty, Cap. 52. whereby all and the several Dues, Rates, and Impositions, granted or payable by virtue of any of the Statutes of the Island, for or on account of the Harbours, ceased and determined; and instead thereof, the respective Dues, Rates, and Impositions specified therein, are laid on.
The Particulars respecting this Fund appear from the Account annexed, which states the Officer who collects, his Allowance, his Appointment, and the respective Harbour Duties.
[25] The Method of Collection we learned from the Deputy Receiver General, Mr. James Webb, and Mr. Thomas Brayden, two of the Collectors; the former at Derby Haven, the latter at Ramsay.
The Harbour Dues on Goods are taken at the several Custom-houses. in the Island at the Time the Entries are made, and paid over, either to the Collectors of them, who are appointed by the Receiver General, or to the Deputy Receiver General, but always accounted for by the respective Collectors.
In order to regulate the Dues on Vessels, if they are British or Irish, the Deputy Receiver General his directed the Collectors to have recourse to their Certificates of Registry; and he takes for granted, those Directions are observed. If the Vessels are foreign, the Collectors are directed to ascertain the Dues by Admeasurement, which the Deputy Receiver, General has occasionally seen them doing.
Two Shillings and Sixpence, to be paid for every foreign Vessel coming to Anchor in any of the Bays of the Island, is levied. by the Collectors, who go on, board those Vessels when they are dry; and when they are afloat, make use of the Custom-house Boats for that Purpose, if they are in Condition, and, the Weather will permit.
The Sums received for the benefit of this Fund are paid to the Deputy Receiver General, quarterly, by the several Collectors, at which Time they deliver in their Accounts upon Oath; and. that is the only Check upon their Conduct in the Execution of this Duty.
The Herring Custom, which is of very ancient date, Was originally a Payment in. kind; but in more recent Times, though the Period of such Change does not appear; has been commuted into a Money Payment. In the present Form; it consists of the following Payments:-- For every Manks or British Boat employed in the Herring Fishery, Ten Shillings Manks Money, (being to British Money in the Proportion of Seven to Six,) provided Ten Maze of Herrings be caught, which Maze is Five Hundred in Number; Seven Shillings and Sixpence for the taking of Seven Maze; Five Shillings for Five Maze; and Two Shillings for, two Maze and a Half.
Irish, Boats, which alone are also entitled to fish on the Coasts of the Isle of Man, are liable to double Custom. in the same Proportions.
These Duties on British and Irish Boats are paid either at Sea or in the Harbours of the Island, as Occasion offers.
The Mode of collecting the Herring Custom in respect of Manks Boats, is thus described:
The first official Knowledge the Deputy Receiver General has of the Boats, which have been employed in the Herring Fishery during the preceding Season, is after the same is ended: The Coroners of the several Sheadings return upon Oath, the Number of Boatmasters within their Districts who have engaged in the Fishery, without specifying the Boats. Public Notice is then given to the different Boatmasters to repair to Douglas at a certain Time, to pay the Herring Custom; when they come for that Purpose, whether the Payments they make, respecting such their Boats, shall be either the Whole, Three, Quarters, Half, or Quarter Custom, or whether they shall pay any at all, depends solely upon their several Oaths, as there is no other Check or Control upon the Number of Boats used, or the Quantity of Fish caught.
[26] The Account annexed shews the Number of Boats in the Island for which the Herring Custom has been paid, for ten Years ending the 5th. January 1791, distinguishing the Year, and to what Port or Creek belonging, and if licensed; as likewise the Number of British and Irish Boats which have paid within the same Period, distinguishing the Number and Year.
The Revenue yielded by the Salmon Fisheries arises from Rents paid to the Crown for the Liberty of fishing in the several Bays of the Island. These Fisheries are, by Order of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, let on Lease by public Auction for a Term of seven Years. The Rent, which by the last Lease was Twenty-two Pounds Sterling, is paid to the Receiver General.
The annual Accounts of the Harbour Duties, and, of the Herring Custom and Bay Fisheries, are made up to the 5th of July in each Year. The Amount of the gross Receipt of the Harbour Duties, for one Year, ending the 5th of July 1791, appears, by the Account annexed, to be Four Hundred and Thirty-five Pounds Nineteen Shillings and Seven Pence One Halfpenny. The Deductions from the gross Receipt are, the Poundages retained by the Collectors under the Authority of the above Act, which reduce the same, as appears by the Account, to Three Hundred and Nineteen Pounds Five Shillings One Penny and One Halfpenny.
The gross Amount of the Herring Custom and Bay Fisheries, for the like Period, was One Hundred and Thirty-two Pounds Seven Shillings and Three Pence One Halfpenny; the Payments therefrom were, Twenty Pounds to the Water Bailiff of the Island, Five Pounds to the Admiral, Three Pounds to the Vice Admiral of the Herring Fishery, allowed by the Act, and Eight Guineas to the Deputy Receiver General, for his Trouble in the Collection, according to an Usage established before the Person who now has that Appointment came into Office. The net Produce is Ninety-five Pounds Nineteen Shillings and Three Pence one Halfpenny. The total Amount of both, after the above Deductions, stated in the Account, is Four Hundred and Fifteen Pounds Four Shillings and Five Pence, out of which the Sum of Three Hundred and Twenty-even Pounds Sixteen Shillings and Sixpence One Farthing was disbursed in Repairs; two Salaries of Five Pounds each were paid to the Pier Master of Douglas and his Assistant.; and one Thirty Pounds to the Receiver General, agreeably to the Act, leaving a Balance of Forty-seven Pounds Seven Shillings and Ten Pence Three Farthing in favour of the Fund for that Year.
The joint Produce of the Funds which have been explained, subject to the necessary Charges in levying, is appropriated by the Act of the 11th of His Majesty, already cited, to the Object of repairing, securing, and supporting the several Harbours of the Island.
The Execution of that Duty through all the Stages of Supervision, Regulation, Expenditure, and Audit of Account, is, by the said Act, entrusted to the Conduct of Commissioners named and described therein, composed of Revenue Officers, the Deputy Water Bailiffs, who are also Officers of Revenue, and Merchants, of whom the Revenue Officers constitute a Majority; and, the Receiver General or his Deputy, has a principal Part assigned him. The Officers and Deputy Water Bailiffs are permanent Commissioners, the Merchants only so for a Term of three Years and are elected for the most Part by the former. In the case of considerable Repairs for any of the Harbours, all the Commissioners are summoned, Seven of whom must attend to issue Orders or Directions, and Persons are appointed by them to perform the Work, or furnish the Materials wanted, under the Inspection of the Commissioner resident upon the Spot, who is commonly the Deputy Water Bailiff. The Bills for the. Expenditure are not al- [27] ways, certified at the General Meeting of the Commissioners at the End of the Year to pass the annual Account, these Bills are examined.
No regular Survey of the different Harbours of the Island, to inspect their Condition, and see what may be necessary to, be done to maintain them in good Order, is ever made by the Commissioners, or any Person delegated by them; but the Resident Commissioner reports on those Particulars at the End of each Quarter to the Deputy Receiver General, who, if he sees Occasion, summons the Commissioners.
The superintendence of the Repairs, and the Certificate as to the Work and Materials. are committed to the Collector of the Harbour Duties, or Pier Master, who is paid One Shilling for every Day he is on this Service.
The Ports and Harbours of the Isle of Man are Objects of great Importance; competent Knowledge and incessant Attention are essential Requisites wherever the Management of them is entrusted.
Doubtful of the Propriety of vesting the principal Part of this Management in Officers employed in Revenue Stations, who it cannot be presumed are in general qualified for such Business; and, at all Events, if they bestow thereon due Care and Consideration, must be taken off from their direct and special Duty; and thinking that a more perfect System of Watch over the State of the Harbours and of Control upon the Sums expended in Labour or Materials for their Support, than the present one, may be devised, we are induced to think a Re-consideration of the Act in question, with a View to these Points, would be expedient.
2d, ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE CUSTOMS.
THAT we might have a correct and complete View of the different Establishments of the Customs in the Island, we called for "A List of the several Ports and Creeks in the Isle of Man, distinguishing the Ports to which the Creeks respectively belong, with the Date of the Commission in virtue of which they were appointed."
In the Return to this Requisition, four Ports, namely, Douglas, Derby Haven, Peel, and Ramsay, and Twenty Creeks are inserted: of these latter, eight belong. to Douglas, six to Derby Haven, three to Peel, and three to Ramsay.
The Commission for assigning and appointing Ports in the Isle of Man, dated the 15th Day of September, 1766, issued from the Court of Exchequer, pursuant to the Powers given to His Majesty by the Act of the Sixth of his Reign, Cap. 50.
Upon examining the Return made thereto, we find only one Creek, Castletown, named; and consequently the other Creeks enumerated, in the above List, if deemed to come within the Description at all, must be so under the Force and Effect of the general Terms used in. Commissions of this Kind, "Harbours, Creeks, Streams, Rivers, Bays, Channels, and so forth."
The Essence of a Creek, however, in the Language and Sense of the Custom Department, which is the having Officers stationed to perform certain, Branches of the Business, is wanting, and as such they hardly appear hitherto to have merited the Appellation.
[28] We farther observe, that in the same Return, Douglas is stiled a Head Port, and the other Ports Members thereof; a Distinction, in our Opinion, useless and unwarranted, as the sole Ground we know of for that Distinction, a Right exercised by Patent Officers appointed to Head Ports to extend their jurisdiction in respect of their Offices to Members thereunto belonging, no way obtains in the Isle of Man.
The Officers , composing the different Establishments in the Island, and the various Particulars touching their Appointments and Emoluments, appear from "An Account of the Salaries, Fees, Gratuities, and Allowances received by the Officers of the Customs in the Isle of Man, distinguishing the Port, the Officer, the Employment, the Authority of Appointment, where paid, the gross Produce of the Employment, the several Deductions therefrom, and the net Produce for the Year 1790." The total Number of Officers in the Island, exclusive of a Clerk allowed the Collector of Douglas, whose Name is not inserted, taking the Deputy Receiver General and other Officers, who have different Appointments, in only one Capacity, and including the Extra Officers occasionally employed, is thirty, of which eleven are at the Port of Douglas, six at Derby Haven, four at Peel, and nine at Ramsay. The Salaries received by the Officers from the Crown, and paid by the Receiver General, amount to Nine Hundred and Thirty-two Pounds Six Shillings and Sixpence. Certain of them, however, are not paid their Salaries in the Isle of Man, nor does their Support become a Burthen, upon the Revenue of the Island: The Payment of their Salaries is made by the Collector of the Customs at Whitehaven, out of the Duties collected at that Port; and this Method has prevailed since the 18th July 1766, the Date of the Order of the Commissioners of the Customs for England, pursuant to a Treasury Warrant, dated the 10th of July of the same Year. The Amount of the Salaries so paid in the Year 1790 was Four Hundred and Ninety-three Pounds Six Shillings and Five Pence Three Farthings, which must be added to the Payments by the. Receiver General, to shew the total Charges of Management. This Sum, together with that of Three Thousand Two Hundred and Seventy-two Pounds Pence, the Total of Payments entered in his Account, makes the Expenditure of the Year 1790 for the Island, incurred by the Crown, to be Three Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-five Pounds Eight Shillings and Seven Pence Three Farthings.
Fees are received by many of the Officers. In this Year they amounted altogether to the Sum of Two Hundred and Eighty-two Pounds Five Shillings and Four Pence. Some few and trifling Gratuities were also received, to the Amount of Six Pounds Ten Shillings.
No Deductions of any Kind for Taxes on the Emoluments of Office are made in the Isle of Man; the only Entries, therefore, in that. Column are Transfers or Allowances of the Whole or Part of Salaries one Officer to another, for Services performed.
The Particulars of the Fees taken by the Officers, for what Business or Document, and for whose Use, are to be collected from the Account annexed. It thence appears; that Uniformity in the Description of the Service for which the Fee is received and in the Totals of the respective Fees, as far as Circumstances will admit, prevails at the different Ports; but no Table of them is affixed in any of the Custom-houses in the Island. The Authority under which these Fees are demanded or taken, is that of Usage, and the present Usage rests upon a Table framed by the late Receiver General. On Inquiry, whether and how far the Payment of these Fees had. been acquiesced in on the Part of the Merchants and Traders, or had occasioned Inconvenience, Dispute, or Litigation, we learned, that some Complaints of the Fees required had been made; that [29] an Action was commenced against an Officer, for regulating himself by the Table in question, instead of abiding by the Fees taken prior to 1765; that Judgment was obtained against the Officer; but that, notwithstanding, the more recent Practice still subsists.
Whilst our Attention is drawn to this Subject, we cannot omit to remark, that the total Abolition of the Receipt of Fees or Gratuities of every Description, in whatever Shape or under whatever Pretence, by the Officers of the Customs in the Isle of Man, would, according to our Judgment, be a Measure highly salutary. To that Mode of Reward in this Department, particularly in certain of the Branches, insurmountable Objections and Dangers. adhere.
Some of the Fees appear to be large, so as rather to bear heavy upon a Trade yet infant, and laying in claim for Support and Encouragement. Other Fees seem in their Nature to, be improper and unsafe: Those on granting Certificates of Landing, in the Case of Licenced, Bounty, or Drawback Goods, are of that Species. Indeed all Fees paid for the Performance of any official Act on the Execution or Faith of which the cancelling any Obligation to the Crown, or the more or less Payment or Repayment of Duty depend, are to be reprehended.
In order to be enabled to judge of the Sufficiency and Fitness of the, present Custom Establishments in the Isle of Man, or of the due and advantageous Conduct of the Collection under those Institutions, it behoved us to investigate with Care and Attention the Principles, Regulations, and Texture of the Official System, as also the Disposal and practical Duty of the several Officers comprised in, and governed by that System.
To the Completion of this Object, we summoned the Officers of every Description in every Port of the Island to appear before us, and took from them severally the most accurate Account they could give, of their Conception of the various Branches of Duty they were bound to execute, and of the Line of Conduct pursued in observance and discharge thereof.
An investigation of this Species and Tendency unavoidably led into much Detail, and extended to considerable Length. This Course of Proceeding was not to be dispensed with on our Part; but we apprehend it to be no way essential, that we should introduce in our Report a Statement of the Particulars contained in these several Examinations: The Enumeration would be prolix, and of no material Utility; as Reference may be had to the Depositions themselves, which are annexed, where such Inspection or Information is wanted.
We shall therefore content ourselves with Observations of a large and general Nature, touching either the System of Office, or Circumstances. of Peculiarity in Offices or Classes of Office making a Part thereof; and at the same Time, where needful, adduce Instances in Exemplification or Proof of what we remark.
As a preliminary Truth we think ourselves bound to observe, that after the closest Inquiry and most mature Deliberation we could apply to the Subject, the Result of our Opinion is, that the System of managing the Customs in the Isle of Man is, in many of the fundamental and most essential Parts and Requisites, ill digested, incomplete, and unfit.
We proceed to point out some of the most striking Defects.
[30] That Guard which ought to stand before the Entrance upon Office and the Delegation of a Trust of considerable public Concern, seems not to exist, or if at all, to be very imperfectly secured and established.
Persons are allowed to come into the Exercise of Stations, and those of the first Rank and Importance in the Department, without Probation or Knowledge attained by practical Instruction under Officers tried and experienced in the Service, at Ports of considerable Business selected for the Purpose; and from which Officers a Certificate, not merely of Attendance during a certain Time deemed sufficient to impart and receive the Information wanted, but of having so profited by Attendance as to be capable and worthy of Trust, must be obtained previous to Admission to the Employment. Rules written or printed, explanatory of the Duties annexed to the Station, which in all Branches of the Department, and especially in those of the inferior Scale, ought constantly to be in Possession of the Officer for his Instruction and Guidance, rarely has it been the Practice to put into his Hands; nor in accidental Cases of Doubt and Difficulty, is there any competent superior Authority to which he can recur, and whence Information how to act can be derived; so that the Officer, if disposed to do his Duty, is left to discover the Way as he best can, with little Probability of either general Uniformity or Correctness of Conduct. The indispensable Caution of Security in a Sum proportionate to the Trust committed, for good Behaviour and the Safety of the Revenue, is often neglected, and Bond for that Purpose either not demanded or omitted to be taken.
Another most essential Object of Precaution in a Service, the well-being of which depends upon a faithful and zealous Exertion to suppress illegal Proceedings, an Inquiry into the Character and prior Habits of Life of the Person nominated to an Employment, and whether he has been known or suspected to be concerned in such Practices, is never made; nay, we learned that Persons within that evil Description have been appointed.
Limitation in point of Age has not been a Requisite or Condition to any of the Appointments; and as there is no Institution in the Nature of a Fund for Officers worn put or superannuated in the Service, it may well and must probably, happen, that Officers having no Resource or Provision for Retirement, may be loth to relinquish their Situations, and induced to protract their Continuance in Office beyond the Periods when they are qualified for the Execution thereof: And this Mischief may the more easily occur, because a Return of the Ages, Capacities, and Conduct of the several Officers is not rendered yearly, or at any other Time, to any superintending Authority.
The due Intervention of mutual Check and Controul among the different Officers in the constant Course and Succession of the Business, or occasional and unforeseen Visitations to probe every Part of the System, to discover Misbehaviour, rectify Error, and introduce Amendment, appear not to be interwoven in, or to have been extended to the Department, at least not with Effect; Nor is that very necessary Instrument, the one of Coercion and Punishment in case of wilful Negligence or had Conduct, so lodged as to be called forth with proper Dispatch and Energy.
One farther Defect we shall notice here, which with many of those preceding, go to exculpate the Officer, if through Ignorance he fails in surcharge of his Duty: It is, that the Revenue Laws, where bearing collaterally, or even having direct and special Operation upon the Isle of Man, are not regularly transmitted to the Ports; indeed we were informed, none had been so furnished since the Time of the late Receiver General. Offices repugnant in Nature, or incompatible in Execution, we found in some Cases to [31] be blended; the Consequence of which is, that the same Officer has it in trust to check himself, and Control is thereby totally lost; or that, distracted by different Duties, he must altogether neglect one, or perform both inefficiently.
The following Examples are selected to verify the justness of some of the foregoing Remarks, as either coming within the Scope of them separately, or exhibiting them together in the fame Instance.
The Collector and Controller at Douglas, the Port in the Island where a very considerable Portion of the Business centers, have neither of them been practically instructed, received Sets of Instructions, or given Security to the Crown.
The Gauger, the Riding Officer, and the Extra, Waiter, and Acting Chief Boatman, at the fame Port, are in like Predicament.
At Derby Haven, the Acting Collector is also Riding Officer; and in respect to Instructions and Security in the former Capacity, stands in a similar Situation with the before-mentioned Officers. as does the Controller of the Port.
At Peel, the Acting Collector holds likewise the Appointments of Established Tidesman and Boatman, and Extra Riding Officer: Touching the first and last Offices, lie was furnished with written Instructions; and touching the second, (the Duty of which he has not executed since September 1766,) under a verbal Dispensation therefrom, granted by the late Receiver-General, he gave Bond. In other Respects he is alike situated.
At Ramsay, the Collector has never been instructed, or received Instructions: He gave Security to the Crown, prior to the Year 1788, in the Sum of Five Hundred Pounds, as Acting Collector at the same Port. The Deputy Receiver General holds the Office of Searcher at this Port, which he has always executed by Deputy. The Acting Controller there is the Deputy Searcher, and respecting neither Office has been instructed, received any Form of Instructions, or given Security. It is to be noted, that several of the Officers have also Employments in collecting the Harbour Duties, or under the Water-Bailiff, who is the Collector of Peel.
The Mode in which the Offices of the Customs are holden, demands to be adverted to.
The Receiver General derives his Appointment from a Warrant under the Royal Sign Manual: The other Officers, except the Deputy Receiver General, who is appointed by his Principal, and those appointed by the late or present Receiver General or his Deputy, hold their Employments in virtue of Constitutions from the lords of the Treasury, some few of whom have Deputations, issued from the Commissioners of the Customs for England about the Time of the Revestment.:
The Officers included in the above Exception are obviously not vested with a Power to make Seizures; nor do we apprehend that an Appointment by Constitution is of a Nature to convey that Right; and thus all the Officers, unless armed with Deputations from the Commissioners of the Customs, would be, as many now are, not legally empowered to do that Act, which is a primary and immediate Instrument to be used for preventing or bringing to Punishment Offences against the Laws of Revenue.
Wherever we directed our Attention to the Executive Branches, in more or less Degree did we discover Marks of that practical Laxity and Irregularity which might be ex-[32] pected, from the present Construction of the Office. The Waterguard strongly exemplified this. That Vessels anchoring or coming into the Bays or Harbours of the Island, either as transient or for Delivery, should be constantly visited, and their Cargoes undergo a close Examination; that Tidewaiters should be placed on board them for the Purpose of Guard; and their Proceedings, until their Departure or Unloading, be attended to with Vigilance and Circumspection, are Objects of great Importance in this Island, and might be made to contribute powerfully to the Benefit of Revenue, and the Discouragement of improper Proceedings. In reverse of which we found, that some of the Boats were out of Repair, or if repaired, not fit for the Service; the Visitations of Ships in the Bays, with the Account of their Arrivals and Sailings, very ill and irregularly conducted; Tidesmen in some Cases, which indeed might, at Douglas particularly, be ascribed to a Deficiency in the Establishment, not boarded, not continued on board Night and Day, when Articles in the Vessel required special Watch and Attention, and when on board, exempt from any Check by a superior Visiting Officer; and, in fact, there is no Tide Surveyor in the Island. Books called Blue Books, for the Entry of all Articles delivered from or received into the Vessel, were seldom given from the Office to the Tidewaiters on board; and if given, kept so incorrect as to defeat the Purpose of their being issued.
Another Department, that of the Riding Officers, we found in greater Neglect and Disorder.
The limited Extent and Breadth of the Island, the general Openness of the Country, ill adapted to Concealment, and the Height of many Parts of the Coast commanding great Sea Distances, with other Circumstances of Aptitude for Observation and Intelligence on the Part of the Officers, might, aided by proper Intercourse and Communication among each other, and with the Commanders of Vessels in the Service of the Admiralty or Revenue stationed there, render an active and faithful Discharge of the Duties allotted to this Class of Officers very highly beneficial: At present, as appears from the Examinations of the four Riding Officers, this Duty can scarcely be said to be executed at all.
The ascertaining the Quantities of Goods landed subject to Duties, as well as of those exported from Great-Britain by Licence or on Debenture, of Salt when taken in at the Island on Bond for the Fishery, or upon the Return thereof and Delivery to the Proprietor if not expended; and the shipping of Herrings outwards, by the Account of which the Payment of the Shilling Bounty, and if to foreign Parts, of the Exportation Bounties, is regulated. These various Objects of Duty Are in general conducted in such a manner as to afford very little Security against Fraud to the Revenue of Great Britain or the Island. Indeed the present Establishment of Officers in this Branch at the Port of Douglas is altogether inadequate; no such Officer as Landing Surveyor is or ever has been appointed; the Gauger, instead of acting constantly on the Quays, confines his Attendance to Cargoes of which Liquors form a Part. Thus one Officer alone, the Searcher, conducts and superintends the unlading and shipping of Goods — his Attention is frequently called for to many Vessels at once. From his Examination we learned, that within the Fortnight preceding, twelve or fourteen Vessels were either taking Herrings on board or discharging Merchant Goods at the fame Time; and the Tidewaiters he has to act under him are, as has been observed. below the Number requisite. Yet, however neglected or imperfectly done the Business alluded to may be, the Collectors and Controllers, or the Persons acting as such, upon the Faith of the several Returns made by the Officers performing the fame, issue of course those Certificates which entitle to a Clearance of the Bonds given in Great Britain to a Receipt of the Bounties and Drawbacks there, and to the Payment of the Insular Bounties.
[33] The Manner of delivering Coals is so heedless, that it cannot be passed over without peculiar Notice.
Tidewaiters are never placed on board Colliers; no Officer attends the unlading; and Meetage, on Behalf of the Crown, is unknown. If the whole Cargo is delivered, the Quantity is admitted as expressed on the Cocket; and Certificate for cancelling the Bond, given at the Port of shipping, granted accordingly. If it be a Part Delivery, the Officer takes the Number of Chalders landed, upon the Statement of the Master of the Vessel, and makes the corresponding Endorsement on the Cocket, which clears the Bond to that Amount. On this precarious Ground, in fact the mere Option of the Payer, rests the insular Duty upon Coals. But this Practice involves Consequences pregnant with Danger of another and far more extensive Kind: Coals, if exported from Great Britain to foreign Parts, are subject to a Duty of One Pound Seven Shillings and Six Pence the Chalder, unless in British Vessels, and then to Fifteen Shillings and Five Pence, and so in proportion by the Ton. On Export to the Isle of Man, the Duty is One Shilling and Two Pence the Chalder; but to hinder that from being perverted into a Channel of foreign Conveyance, Coals are prohibited to be exported from the Island.
Under the Mode of Discharge and Facility of procuring Certificates described, any Part of the Cargo may have been landed, or transhipped before the Arrival of the Vessel at the Island; or a false Account of the Part Deliveries there may be given in as a Cover to future Acts of that Sort. In short, any Species of Fraud whatever on the Article, to the Prejudice of Revenue, may be committed with Impunity, and without Possibility of Detection, as far as depends upon the Isle of Man Officers.
The Account of the Number of Chalders of Coals imported into the Isle of Man for the last ten Years, distinguishing each Year, we called for, among various other Accounts, subjoined in the Appendix, with a View to convey Information respecting the principal Sources of the Trade or Revenue of the Island, and at the same Time, by marking the Increase or Decrease in the Import or Export of the chief Articles of Consumption, Manufacture, or Produce, to throw some collateral Light upon the comparative State of Population at different Periods.
After what has been described, how little Reliance can be had upon the Account of Coals, must be apparent.
And we find it necessary to introduce, as a general Remark, that from. the Mode in which the Custom Business has hitherto been conducted, and the many Inaccuracies pervading the Accounts, the Inferences to be drawn therefrom become far less strong and conclusive than they might otherwise have been.
The higher Branches of the Department, we mean those of Collector and Controller, stand in need of being revised, informed, and put into a right and regular Train of Conduct. The want of an Officer to perform the Duty of Jerquer at Douglas, is a manifest Defect in the Establishment, which might. be remedied by the Appointment of a Landing Surveyor at the Port; an Union of those two Duties being compatible, and generally admitted at all, except very considerable Out Ports.
The Coasts of the Island, particularly those most frequented by Smugglers, appear not to be sufficiently guarded by Preventive Officers; and the stationing the Military with the same View, will be the Subject of future Observation.
[34] We now proceed to remark upon one, and that the Presiding Officer of the Customs; and the so doing has been reserved to this Place, because what has been before stated, may serve to illustrate and corroborate the Suggestions we have to offer: We allude to the Receiver General. That Office seems to have been preserved in Continuation of the System existing anterior to the Revestment, though various Parts of the Duty then inherent therein have been withdrawn, and it is now become purely an Office of Revenue. The present Holder of that Office, who was appointed in the Year 1785, has not been in the Island since the Year 1786, when he took the Oaths of Qualification, and remained there a few Days;— he has acted solely by Deputy. It may here be fit to observe, that we are ignorant of the Right by which this Office is converted into a Sinecure. Several Acts of Parliament, by introducing the Term, seem to acknowledge a Deputy; but we find no such Authority conveyed in the Form of the Appointment. In order to discover the Benefits resulting from the Office in the Island, we must look to the active Part thereof, the Deputy Receiver General. This Officer has no Instructions to define the Objects, Nature, and Extent of his Duty; nor did any correct Description thereof appear to be settled. He receives the Duties, pays and accounts, as has been explained. He transmits an Account of Imports and Exports to the Treasury, through the Agent for the Receiver General; but no Monthly, or other Cash Account; no Account of Articles carried Coastwise, or of Seizures, is so sent. By the present Appointment, his Principal is not constituted Surveyor General; nevertheless, a Kind of superintending Power over all the. Officers in the Island is understood to attach to the Office; yet he was himself at a Loss to point out exactly how far this extended.
From the Investigation of this Office, as far as regards the Island in either of its Capacities, we are compelled to observe, that we can in no Way discover the Utility, or any good Reason for the Continuance thereof. The Medium of Receiver and Accountant in the Island, other than the Collector, is superfluous; and the actual Condition of the Department, as well as the Purport of the different Examinations, evince, that the Exertion of the superintending Authority with which he may be invested is of little Avail. Indeed the Government of the Officers at every Port, with the consequent Responsibility to a superior Power, ought to lodge with the Collector and Controller. Constantly present, they are best qualified to exercise the same for the immediate Benefit of the Service; and the Possession of it tends to give them a suitable Weight and Respectability in the Estimation of subordinate Officers.
The Effect of that Branch of the Office of the Receiver General which is not executed in the Island, answers no good End, but is rather hurtful, as it intercepts and delays the Passage into the Exchequer of whatever Sums may be remitted from the Island on Account of Revenue.
That we might observe the Effect of this intermediate Treasury in this Point of View, we required the Account subjoined; by which it appears, that the Balance in the Hands of the Receiver General, on the 5th of January 1788, was Five Hundred and Seventy-seven Pounds Sixteen Shillings; on the 5th of January 1789, was One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty-one Pounds Two Shillings and One Penny; on the 5th of January 1790, was Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-four Pounds Seven Shillings and Seven Pence; on the 5th of January, 1791, was Five Thousand One Hundred and Nineteen Pounds Sixteen Shillings and Four Pence One Halfpenny; and upon the 5th of January 1792, Four Thousand Four Hundred and Ninety Pounds One Shilling and Four Pence One Halfpenny.
We farther had Occasion to find, that the Necessity of applying through the Receiver General for any official Documents or Information wanted by the Officers in the Island, did not serve to accelerate their Transmission.
[35] The Conclusion we draw is, that the Office of Receiver General might be dispensed with, and the Revenue be exonerated from an annual Charge of Three Hundred Pounds, as appears by the Account delivered in by the Deputy Receiver General; or of Four Hundred Pounds, as appears by the above Account, and with Benefit to the Department of the Customs in the Island, under a Plan which will forthwith be proposed.
Whilst in the Execution of the Duty injoined us, we find ourselves called upon to offer this Opinion, it is to be understood that we look alone to the future good Construction of the Office; and whatever Reform we may here or elsewhere suggest, no Injury is meant to be implied to any Officer, or the Interest vested in any Office.
We think it may be assumed as a self-evident Proposition, that under the present System, the Collection cannot prosper to its full Extent; and of consequence, that the Suggestion alluded to in our Instructions, "That the Revenue of the Isle of Man is not nearly so productive as it ought to be," is so far maintained and proved.
The Errors and Defects, of which we have only adduced the most prominent, appear to be so ingrafted, that nothing short of a radical Change can reach the Evil, and communicate Order, Regularity, and Energy. The most apt and efficacious Method to accomplish this Object will, in our Opinion, be, to place the Revenue under the Management of the Commissioners of the Customs for England or Scotland. The Transfer will at once establish in the Department that Code of Rules, Regulations, and Provisions which, the Fruit of long Experience, and continued Attention to correct and improve the System, has been found, in Practice, best adapted to the Conduct of the Revenue, and the Government of the Officers of the Customs at the Out Ports. The Duties collected may then, as now, be made subject to certain Charges in the Island, and the Balances remitted be distinguished, if necessary, in the weekly Payments by the Receiver General of the Customs into the Exchequer, there to abide the Disposition of Parliament.
Should this Proposal be adopted, we apprehend it may be thought requisite that a proper Officer should be sent by the Commissioners of the Customs for England or Scotland, to the Isle of Man, on the Service of a special Inspection, in order to introduce the Out Port Forms; to examine minutely into the Ages, Capacities, and Characters of the several Officers, with a View that a judgment may be formed as to those whom it may be fit to have instructed, or to superannuate; and to prepare a Plan of the necessary Alterations in the present Stations or Establishments: And that when the Report of such Proceedings has been laid before the Commissioners of the Customs for England or Scotland, and digested, a complete Statement of the intended Arrangement should be submitted to the Lords of the Treasury, for their Approval and ultimate Determination.
3d, SYSTEM OF DUTIES.
THE Duties of Customs now payable in the Isle of Man, were imposed by two Acts of Parliament; namely, the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, and the 20th George the Third, Cap. 42.
The Account subjoined we required of the Receiver General, that they might appear at one View, with any Variations which they had undergone.
These Duties are laid on either by a specific Rate according to Quantity, Measurement or Weight; or ad valorem.
[36] Spirits, Tea, Coffee, Tobacco, Wine, and Coals, are classed under the former Mode of Imposition; all other Articles, subject to Duty, under the latter.
The Method of levying Duties by a per Centage on the Value must, except where such Value is ascertained by fair and public Sale, be, more or less exposed to Uncertainty and Evasion.
Two Checks have been devised to guard against these Defects The one, the Oath of the Importer or Proprietor, by the Act of the 27th of His present Majesty, Cap. 13, converted into a written Declaration of the Value on the Warrant, made by that Act to be of the same Force and Effect as the Oath heretofore taken; the other, a Right in the Officer to detain the Article, and take the same for the Use and Benefit of the Crown, within a certain Time from the landing, paying the Importer or Proprietor the Value given in, together with an Addition of Ten Pounds per Centum, and returning the Duties which had been received.
We find the Practice in the Isle of Man has not been constant and uniform in enforcing the legal Requisition of the Oath or Declaration as to the Value,; and that very seldom it has gone to take possession of the Article, when undervalued or suspected to be so; but that upon signifying such Circumstance to the Collector, a second Entry has been admitted.
There is little Reason to doubt that the Revenue has suffered materially from the incorrect Manner of collecting Duties of this Description; indeed among the few Instances cited, where the Officer had exercised his Right of laying hold of the Article, it appeared that in one Case a second Valuation was permitted, by which an Augmentation of between Thirty and Forty Pounds was made to what had originally been fixed at about One Hundred and Twenty Pounds; and in the other, where the Article was retained and disposed of for the Benefit of the Crown, the Value had been Five, and the Produce at a private Sale was between Seven and Eight Pounds.
A Correction of this lax and negligent Conduct on the Part of the Officers would so far meet the Evil, and where Duties at Value remain, will we trust be enforced; but the Subject merits to be considered in a farther and different Point of View, that of the Propriety of the present System of Duties.
Papers were delivered in to us by the Deputy Receiver General, and the Collector and Controller of Douglas, and one transmitted after our Return by the Collector of Ramsay, which contain their several Opinions and Proposals, as well for the Improvement of the Revenue as the Prevention of illicit Practices; and which being Materially directed to, the Object under Investigation, may, with the Answers by the Officers to Queries suggested by us, be introduced in this Place. At the same Time it is to be remarked, that the Matter in these Papers, as well as the Nature of the Subjects discussed, are so intermixed, and a Reference to the Benefit of the Inhabitants so frequently connected therewith, that it is often difficult to determine to which of those Heads they most especially belong.
In respect of Duties, their Observations go either to the Principle or the Quantum. A general Agreement of Opinion among these Officers obtains, as to the Advantage which would result from a Change in the Mode of imposing the insular Duties on various Articles of Commerce, many of which are specified in their respective Statements, by converting them from Duties raised by Value to certain Sums affixed to the Weight, Measurement, Tale, or other Denomination of a like kind suited to the Article. Their [37] Suggestions are, we think, warranted, and the System in this respect open to Improvement.
The Imports into the Island are such as come immediately from Foreign Parts, or from Great Britain and Ireland; and these latter comprize Articles either foreign, conveyed through that Medium, or of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of their respective Countries.
It should seem that Articles imported in a raw State, or not so much manufactured as that Art or Labour constitute a material Proportion of their Value, and all Commodities not so mixed and complicate as to render it difficult to find any one Criterion for Duty, which may take in the various Materials of which they are composed, are fit Subjects for the Payment of a fixed Sum, regulated by such of the Standards before-mentioned as the Nature thereof may require.
The Value of Articles thus described is not liable to that Fluctuation and Variety, which would occasion the Rule of Duty suggested, to bear unequally or partially upon those of the same Species. We therefore think, that the Change proposed by the Officers ought to be applied to Goods, Wares, or Commodities referable to the above Definition; and that the Propriety of the Alteration will hold, not only in regard to the Imports from Foreign Countries, which at present are few and inconsiderable, but likewise to those from Great Britain or Ireland, for. the Consumption or Use of the Island, which form the principal Part of its Trade.
The Propositions of the Officers in general recommend, that the Insular Duties on all Goods entitled to Bounty or Drawback of Customs or Excise in Great Britain, should be levied by a certain Rate; and that such Rate should be similar in the Mode to that by which the Bounty or Drawback is obtained, or Duty levied, on the Goods in Great Britain.
Exceptions to this Principle may, we apprehend, arise, and render an Adherence to the ad valorem System preferable.
The Distinction suggested above would occasion some in the Case of Skill or Manufacture bestowed upon the Article or Complicacy of Materials: Others might, we apprehend, arise from this Circumstance, that in certain Articles exported for the Bounty, the Bounty is intended to affect one Ingredient only, and therefore would yield no good Estimate for fixing a general Duty.
By the present Insular Duties, Articles entitled to Bounty or Drawback of Excise upon Exportation from Great Britain, and all others so entitled, are distinguished; the former being at the Rate of Five per Cent. on the Value, the latter of Two and One Half. Whether a Rate therefore be adopted, or the Principle of Value continued respecting such Goods, a proportionate Difference would be observed, and that Kind of Duty found to be most simple and apposite in Application might generally be chosen. A final Determination as to which of these two Principles may most expediently be applied to the various Articles of Commerce, and an Adjustment of the Duties conformably therewith, must of necessity be a Work of Deliberation and Time.
The Insular Duties were established at a very early Period after the Revestment. In the Year 1780, several Additions to and some Diminutions in the Amount of the Duties took place, but the old Modes of laying them on were continued.
[38] It appears consistent, that Uniformity of Principle in imposing Duties on the same Article in Great Britain and the Isle of Man should obtain, and the sole Difference be ill the relative Extent of the Duty; and the, British Book of Rates so far become the Model of that in the Island: If right in one Country, Peculiarities of Situation being adverted to and provided for, we fee no Reason why it should not be so in the other.
A Revision and Regulation of the Duties might very well become an immediate Object, and in the Event of the Inspection proposed respecting the Establishments, the preparatory Inquiries on the Island necessary to the Measure might form a Part of the Duty assigned to the Officer sent upon that Service.
In whatever Mode any Alteration takes place, Care should be had, as observed by the Collector and Controller of Douglas, that the Duty on the same Article imported from Great Britain or Ireland should be so laid in the Isle of Man, that both Countries may in respect thereof have the Means of Meeting at equal Advantage. Goods imported from Foreign Parts into the Island are subject to a considerably higher Duty than if imported from Great Britain or Ireland; and the Collector and Controller of Douglas recommend that a like Difference be preserved where the Duties are changed from those ad valorem, to a Rate. The Principle of this Distinction, as far as it goes to give a Preference to Goods of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of Great Britain or Ireland, is highly expedient; but it is not so obvious upon what Ground Foreign Goods should be charged with higher Duties upon being imported directly from the Place of their Growth than from Great Britain. The general Consequence stated to result, is that of compelling the Inhabitants to a circuitous Trade; this they treat as a Hardship, and point out particular Instances, which will be discussed under the proper Head.
The Collector and Controller of Douglas propose, that the following Articles should be prohibited to be imported into the Island from Foreign Parts: Beer, Ale, or Porter, Candles, Soap, Printed or Stained Goods, Starch, Hair-Powder, Sugar, and Silks; which last Article is, as we apprehend, already prohibited by the Acts of 5th George the Third, Cap. 39, and 6th George the Third, Cap. 28.
These additional Restrictions may be worthy of Consideration: Indeed it appears to be a Maxim of general Expediency, that Foreign Articles, which for the Protection of the British Manufactories are forbidden to be imported into Great Britain, or are made liable to heavy Duties, should, unless special Objections intervene, be prohibited to be imported into the Isle of Man.
The Collector of Ramsay suggests, "that no Drawback or Bounty of Customs or Excise on Goods imported into the Island, should be allowed in Great Britain, until a Certificate has been transmitted to the shipping Port from the proper Officer in the Island at the Port of Delivery; and that the Drawback or Bounty should only be allowed on the actual Quantity certified to be entered and landed." Observing, "That the Quantities of such Articles expressed in the Cockets are in general deficient, particularly in those entitled to Drawbacks of Excise , (and instances Soap, Candles, Starch, &c.) notwithstanding which the Shipper recovers the Drawback, and without a Certificate."
By the 5th George the First, Cap. 11, no Bond for the Exportation of Coffee, Tea, or other Certificate Goods, to Ireland, shall be delivered up, or Drawback allowed for any Goods entitled thereto, until the landing thereof shall be certified under the Hands and Seals of the Collector, Controller, and Surveyor of the Customs of some Port in Ireland, or any two of them.
[39] By the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, all Goods entitled to Drawbacks or Bounties on Exportation from Great Britain to the Isle of Man, are made subject to the like Rules and Restrictions as when exported to Ireland.
By the Custom Laws, consequently, no Drawback can be received, until a due Certificate of landing be produced.
If a similar Condition to entitle to Excise Drawback, respecting the Isle of Man, be not enforced by the Act of 7th George the Third, or any other Act, it is expedient that a Clause to that Effect should be enacted. And as the foregoing Act of the 5th George the First, Cap. 11, relates only to Drawbacks; whereas the 26th George the Third, Cap. 40, requires similar Certificates in case of Bounty Goods exported to Ireland, and specifically includes in the Regulation Guernsey and Jersey, but not the Isle of Man; it seems fit that the same should be extended to the latter, unless it be deemed so to do under the general Provision of the Act of the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45.
We now proceed to Suggestions respecting specific Articles.
Brandy and Geneva.
The Inhabitants are permitted to import annually by Licence Forty Thousand Gallons of British Spirits, at a Duty of One Shilling the Gallon; Thirty Thousand. Gallons of Rum of the British Plantations from England, and Ten Thousand Gallons from Scotland, at a Duty of One Shilling and Sixpence the Gallon. The Importation of Foreign Spirits is understood in the Island to be absolutely prohibited; but the Act of 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, only confines the Importation thereof to be from England; and no such absolute Prohibition does, we apprehend, exist.
The Account annexed comprehends the Particulars respecting every Article imported from Great Britain into the Isle of Man by Licence, from the respective Periods when such Licences were required by Law to the present Time. It thence appears, that during most of the Years since 1768, no Duty has been paid in the Island on British Spirits; that since the Year 1784, the Payment thereof has wholly ceased; and that the Quantity imported in every Year has fallen far short of the Allowance.
The Revenue Officers are all of Opinion, that the Non-importation of British Spirits arises from a rooted Distaste to them in the Inhabitants, and an unconquerable Predilection for Foreign Spirits; and they propose, as well with a View to the Increase of the Revenue as the Check of Smuggling, the allowing a limited Quantity of Brandy and Geneva to be imported by Licence, in lieu of British Spirits. The Opinion of the Lieutenant Governor, the Statement of the House of Keys, and the Memorials of the Inhabitants, hold forth the same Suggestion, and upon similar Ground. Indeed particular Stress appears to be laid upon this Regulation, in point of Efficacy, against the Continuance of illegal Trade.
Some Diversity of Opinion prevails as to the annual Quantity of each Article proper to be allowed; the Lieutenant Governor suggests Ten, Twelve, or Fifteen Thousand Gallons; the Deputy Receiver General Eight or Ten Thousand Gallons; the Collector and Controller of Douglas, Fifteen Thousand Gallons the Merchants of Douglas propose Ten Thousand Gallons.
[40] Upon the whole, we think the Trial of admitting a certain Quantity of Brandy and Geneva, annually, by Licence, is advisable.
The Duty recommended by the Officers for Brandy, is Two Shillings and Six Pence the Gallon; and for Geneva, Two Shillings the Gallon. The Principle by which they govern their Recommendation, as to the Quantum of the Duties, is, that they would bear the same Proportion to those on the respective Articles in Great Britain, as the Insular Duty on Rum does to the British Duty on that Article; which Insular Duty, they say, has in Experience been found to be so judiciously taken, as not to afford Temptation to smuggle Rum either into or out of the Island.
Should the Measure be adopted, how far the Reasoning of the Officers, as to the Proportions, is just, will be a fit Matter for Consideration when the Duties come to be fixed.
Upon our stating an Apprehension, that although the Revenue might he benefited by admitting Foreign Spirits on a Duty, yet it might sustain an Injury from the diminished Importation of Rum; the Officers gave it as their Opinion, that such Consequence would not follow, but only a legal Supply of the Quantity of Spirits now clandestinely introduced.
With respect to British Spirits, the Reduction of the annual licensed Quantity to Ten Thousand Gallons, or the total Prohibition thereof, was advised. The Cause assigned for the latter Proposal was lest, as the Article would carry a lower Duty than those on Foreign Spirits, it might be used to adulterate them, to the Detriment of the Revenue and fair Trader.
We are not aware, that an absolute Prohibition is objectionable; but, at all Events, as Foreign Spirits would not, in the Isle. of Man, in like manner as in Great Britain, be subject to any Duty raised upon the Excise Principle, it may be proper, to the End of preventing Brandy and Geneva from being imported in high Strength, for the Purpose of after fraudulent lowering, that two Classes of Duties on each should be laid, proportioned to Strength or Proof; or that none of either Article should be importable above a certain Standard of Proof.
The Merchants of Douglas, in their Memorial, request that the annual Importation of these Articles might be permitted,, immediately from. France and Holland, in Casks not less than sixty Gallons.
Every Regulation, Restriction, Penalty, and Forfeiture, now provided by Law, touching the Importation of Brandy and Geneva into Great Britain, ought assuredly to be extended to the Importation of those Articles into the Isle of Man; consequently, they could not be imported in Vessels or Casks containing less than One Hundred Gallons. As the Law at present stands, we think these Spirits may be imported from Great Britain; but that Mode of Importation is not the one applied for by the Inhabitants, and is open to the following Difficulty and Objection:— The Excise Duties, forming by far the greatest Portion of those respectively paid on Spirits, are not drawn back on Exportation; therefore, unless that System was broken in upon, the Inhabitants could not be furnished with the Articles at the Medium Rate of Price proposed; and the additional Charge, induced by procuring them through the British Markets, would go to counteract the Object aimed at, that of taking off the Temptation to the Smuggler, by establishing a legal Supply at a moderate Cost. On this Ground, the direct Importation requested, under Licence from, the Commissioners of the Customs, may, we think, be admitted. The most proper and effectual Guard to prevent the Abuse of [41] this Indulgence, if the same is thought fit to be granted will, of course, be devised and applied, and the Continuance of the Indulgence be measured, by the practical Demonstration, that it has not been attended with mischievous Consequences.
Tea.
Twenty Thousand Pounds Weight of Bohea, and Five Thousand Pounds Weight of Green Tea, were, by 7th George the Third, Cap. 45. allowed to be annually imported, by Licence, into the Island, at a Duty of One Shilling per Pound the former, and One Shilling and Six Pence the latter. By 20th, George the Third, Cap. 42, the Duties on Teas were lowered to Six Pence the Pound on Bohea, and One Shilling the Pound on Green.
The legal Importation of Teas are, and have been, very inconsiderable:— During many Years since 1768, no Duty has been paid for Tea of either Description; and in most of the Years, on a Quantity extremely disproportionate to the Allowance, and what is ascertained to be the Consumption. The Officers unanimously ascribe this to the clandestine Introduction of the Article, occasioned by the high Rate of Duty laid thereon: They state that, the Duty and every other necessary Charge included, Tea is drank, in the Isle of Man, at a comparatively higher Price than in Great Britain.
In remedy of this known Branch of Smuggling, and the concomitant Injury to Revenue, they propose, that the present Insular Duties on Tea should be repealed; and Duties, at the Rate of Twelve and One Half per Cent. on the gross Price at which the Article sells at the Sales of the East India Company, be substituted in their Stead; which Rate is equal to the Custom and Excise Duties in Great Britain drawn back on Exportation. This, we think, a proper Regulation— making the Article subject to Forfeiture if such Price is not mentioned in the Cocket, and imposing a Penalty upon the insertion of any fictitious, or other than the real Price at the Sale.
It is suggested that Tea might then be exported to the Isle of Man without Licence, as it could not be smuggled back to Great Britain with Advantage.
But we deem it by no means prudent to abandon the Precaution of bringing this Article under the special Cognizance of the Commissioners of the Customs. The annual Quantity will remain to be controlled as at present, and the Necessity of Licence might serve to impede any fraudulent Attempts to introduce Foreign Teas into the Island, under Pretence of their having been bought at the Sales of the Company.
Tobacco.
The Quantity of Tobacco which may annually be imported by Licence into the Isle of Man, is, by 29th George the Third, Cap. 68, Forty Thousand Pounds Weight.
The Deputy Receiver General seems to think that Quantity sufficient. The Collector and Controller of Douglas consider the same as very inadequate; and they found their Opinion on the Number of Inhabitants, the general Use thereof by Persons of different Ages and Sexes, and the Complaint of the high Price of the Article. The Opinion of the Collector of Ramsay is similar, and built on the same Species of Argument; but he appears to refer to an Idea, that the Number of Inhabitants accounts to Forty Thousand, which is not warranted by any Document, and is indeed disproved by Accounts given in among our Papers.
[42] The latter Officers recommend an Enlargement of the annual Quantity; and the Collector and Controller of Douglas propose the Augmentation to be Forty Thousand Pounds Weight.
The Motives which induced these Officers to represent the Insufficiency of the present Allotment of Tobacco, are stated to be their Conviction, that in consequence thereof, and of the Inconveniencies attending Licences in their present Shape, the Inhabitants are tempted to procure the Article by illegal Means; and that the Addition advised would be conducive to the Benefit of Revenue.
It is to be observed, that the annual Quantity now legally admissible into the Island, was fixed, by the British Legislature, at no more distant Period than the Year 1789, and that no Request in favour of the Extension, has been preferred by the Inhabitants, amidst their Complaints of Grievances touching this, in common with other licensed Articles. We are therefore of Opinion, that there is not sufficient Ground for recommending an immediate Augmentation of the Quantity,
If, when a better System of conducting the Customs in the Isle of Man has been tried, and any fraudulent Importation or Exportation of the Article impeded, it is found that Forty Thousand Pounds Weight of Tobacco does not meet the real and fair Consumption of the Island, it will then be the time, and in our Opinion highly fit, that the Quantity should be increased, and to an Extent so as fully to satisfy the Wants of the Inhabitants. Should the Enlargement, at present, of the Allowance, however, be approved of, for the Reasons given by the Collector and Controller of Douglas, we submit the Quantum for the Consideration of Government.
British Refined Sugar.
Of this Article Four Hundred Hundred Weight British fully refined, and Ten Hundred Weight of British refined Bastard, may be imported every Year by Licence.
The Quantity is deemed to. be equal to the Consumption, and a considerable Portion thereof has annually been imported.
The Officers suggest, that the Duty, being Five per Cent. on the Value, should cease, and a Rate by the Hundred Weight be adopted. They in some measure connect this Alteration with a Change in the Mode of granting Licences. The Duty proposed is from Eight to Ten Shillings the Hundred Weight. The present Insular Duty may, upon the Average Price of Sugar, be somewhere about Three or Four Shillings the Hundred Weight. We are of Opinion, considering the high Bounty allowed on the Export of this Article, that it will at all Events very well bear a Duty of Eight Shillings the Hundred Weight.
Wine.
The Deputy Receiver General offers this Article as a proper Subject for the Increase of Duty. At present Eight Pounds the Ton is paid on French Wine, and Four on all other Wines. The Quantity imported is stated to be about Fifty Tons yearly, of which French Wines make a very inconsiderable Part.
The Account annexed was called for to shew the Quantity and Species of Wines imported into the Isle of Man from the Year 1765 to the present Period, distinguishing each Year.
[43] The Increase of Duty proposed is Four Pounds the Ton on French, and Two Pounds the Ton on every other Sort of Wine. In Answer to our Queries touching the Danger of Smuggling Inward, or reduced Consumption from augmented Duty; and whether the Article might not, without Risk of either, sustain a still greater Addition; the above Officer stated, that he entertained no Apprehension of the former Mischiefs, and that he once had it in Contemplation to have proposed raising the Duty on each Species of Wine to double the present Rate.
The Duties, if fixed at no higher Rate than Twelve Pounds the Ton on French, and Six Pounds the Ton on all other Sorts of Wine, may, we think, be regarded as moderate.
Vinegar.
This Article is subject to a Payment of Fifteen per Cent. ad valorem, upon Importation from Foreign Parts.
The Officers conceive the Method of imposing this Duty as improper, and the present Amount thereof as too small, compared with. the British Duty on the same Article; thence holding forth a Temptation to Smuggling from the Island into Great Britain. A Change of the Insular Duty on Vinegar to a Rate by the Gallon or Ton, regulated so as to bear some such Proportion to the Duty on Wine, as obtains between the Duties on those respective Articles in Great Britain, and so provide against the above Evil, would, we think, be beneficial.
Hops.
An Alteration of Principle in the Duty upon this Article, by affixing the same to Weight instead of Value, is suggested.
The present Duty on Importation thereof from Great Britain is Two Pounds Ten Shillings per Centum ad valorem.
The Officers all propose that the Duty should be laid either by the Pound or Hundred Weight, recommending severally the same to be fixed at One Penny or One Penny Halfpenny the Pound, or by the Hundred Weight, in such Proportion as to make the Amount of the Duty equal, to Five Pounds per Centum on the Value. These Suggestions they appear to connect with the Allowance of Drawback on the Exportation of Hops to the Isle of Man, in like manner as to Ireland.
The Drawback for British-grown Hops so exported is One Penny Twelve Twentieth Parts of a Farthing the Pound Weight, being the Whole of the Excise Duty upon the Article.
The Inhabitants have applied for this Indulgence, which will be noticed under a subsequent Head; and on the Issue of that Application the Quantity of Duty proper to impose must in a great measure depend.
The general Result of this Inquiry into the System of Duties in our Opinion strongly co-operates with that drawn from the Investigation of the Establishments to make good the Suggestion, "that the Revenue of the Isle of Man is not nearly so productive as it ought to be."
[44]
4th, ILLICIT PRACTICES.
THE Testimony of the Officers, the, Openings afforded under the Weakness of the present System of Prevention, and Facts which occurred during our short Stay in the Island, all concur to establish the Truth of the Representation alluded to in our Instructions, "that illicit Practices do still prevail in the Isle of Man."
The Mischiefs resulting from thence may be regarded in two Views: the one a fraudulent Evasion of the Insular Duties; the other, an Importation into Great Britain or Ireland of Articles liable to Duty, without Payment thereof; of Articles which have received Bounty or Drawback on Exportation; or of Articles prohibited; in Defiance of the Laws, and to the Injury of the Revenue, Manufactures, and Trade of those Kingdoms. The Magnitude or Extent of the Evils coming within these latter Descriptions is of a Nature not easily to be ascertained, and as far as the Isle of Man, is made a Part or Stage in any connected Plan or circuitous Smuggling to England, Scotland, or Ireland, in such Degree does it likewise contribute to the general Support of unlawful Trade.
The Articles which it is agreed by the Officers are the principal Subjects of clandestine Importation into the Island, are, Brandy, Geneva, and Tea.—Tobacco was also represented to be smuggled in, and occasionally other Articles, of which a recent Instance in a large Quantity of Silks was adduced.
Among the Subjects of outward Smuggling, Part was represented to be by much the most considerable; and the illicit Introduction into the neighbouring Kingdoms, to be notorious and great.
The Tenor of all the Examinations we took, stated the illegal landing, or relanding, of Goods from Merchant Vessels, homeward or outward bound, not to have been known to be practised for a long Period of Time.
The Instruments used in carrying on this pernicious Traffick are, Luggers, Cutters, and Wherries, which continually hover upon the Coasts, and sometimes come into the Bays of the Island, for the Purpose of running the Whole, or Part of their Cargoes; and the Manks Boats, which, upon Signals, go off to these Smuggling Vessels from the Harbours, Bays, or Creeks, in order to convey on Shore the Goods meant to be so landed; or which take on board, and tranship at Sea, or transport across the Channel, the Articles intended for illegal Adventure.
As the Groundwork of whatever can effectually be undertaken for the Suppression of these mischievous Proceedings, we assume, that the executive System of the Customs in the Ifland has been corrected;— until that is done, every Attempt to this most desirable Object must, we deem, be nugatory.
A Revenue Cruizer, suitable in Size, Construction, and Force, ought, we, think, to be stationed at the Island, for the special and sole Intent of guarding the Isle of Man with Orders to look out, not only for the Smuggling Vessels which visit and hang upon the Coasts, but to keep a strict Watch over the Fishing or other Boats belonging the Island, or which come over from the surrounding Countries; and likewise, to examine occasionally, but always if there be Cause for suspicion, Vessels of every Description, which go into, or fall from, the different Harbours and Bays.
[45] By the mutual Co-operation of such a Vessel, constantly girting and encompassing the Island, of a sufficient Waterguard, and a Landguard rendered efficient and active, we cannot but be of Opinion, that great Advancement might be made towards a complete Prevention of every Kind of Smuggling.
The Intervention and Aid of the Military would, it has been represented, be very useful to sustain and give Effect to the Exertions of the Officers, for the Repression of illicit Practices.
The Soldiers, at present, are thought not to be sufficiently dispersed over the Island; and the want of them at Places on the Coast, known to be particularly convenient for Smuggling, and resorted to by Smugglers, is considered as detrimental.
A Disposition hereafter in that Service, to accord with the Regulations which may be adopted in the future stationing of Revenue Officers, would be beneficial.
The Military, when they assist the Officers in making Seizures, are not rewarded they are merely paid for their Trouble in helping to carry the Goods seized to the Warehouse. It is highly proper that they should be encouraged, and have a similar additional Inducement to do their Duty with the Officers of the Customs; and, therefore, the Rules and Proportions for recompensing the Soldiers who have been concerned in Seizures, which obtain in Great Britain, ought to be established in the Isle of Man.
Various Articles, coming within absolute or conditional Prohibitions in the Island, when prosecuted to Condemnation, instead of being disposed of as the British Laws direct, are sold at Auction, and delivered to the Purchaser, without Bond for their due Exportation, or any other Kind of Restriction or Condition. A Reform here, appears to be much required, as the Practice admitted defeats the Intent of the Forfeiting and Condemning Law; and Opportunities for fraudulent and collusive Proceedings, in relation to seized Goods, may by that Means be given.
In the Case of Tobacco condemned, the Officers know not how to proceed; and a Quantity in that Predicament now lies in the Warehouse at Douglas.
That the Laws relative to Seizures, Prosecutions, and the Disposal of Articles condemned, should be correctly understood, and enforced with Certainty and Dispatch, is very material to the Discouragement of Smuggling. But whether, from Difficulty in the Construction or Application of those Laws, or Ignorance on the Part of the Officers, Defects injurious to the Service in this Respect prevail, and need Remedy.
Illegal Contracts are, we presume, under the general implied Principle of Law, void in the Island; and, consequently, every Obligation of that Kind, touching Articles unlawfully imported, exported, carried coastwise, or disposed of, must be null.
Great Care and Circumspection in the inferior Courts of the Island, where small Debts are recoverable, and commonly sued for, to examine well into the Legality or Illegality of the Contracts coming before them, whereby the Principle itself would also become more universally known, might, we think, be attended with Benefit.
We shall now take Occasion to introduce some Remarks, directed to certain of the Objects above enumerated:
[46]
Brandy, Geneva, and Tea.
The annual Admission of a limited and licensed Quantity of Foreign Spirits upon Duty, and. the Reduction of the Duties now payable on Tea, have, in the preceding Part of our Report, been recommended, as the best and most certain Cure for the illicit Acts hitherto committed in respect, of those Articles.
Tobacco.
This Article is imported in the Leaf, and afterwards manufactured in the Island.
The Tendency which a Change in the present, Mode of granting Licences, for the Exportation from Great Britain of this and other licensed Goods, may have to counteract the illicit Introduction of them into the Isle of Man, as urged by the Officers, will be adverted to in a subsequent Discussion.
Hitherto the Provisions for the Prevention of improper Proceedings relative to Tobacco in the Island, appear to have been almost wholly confined to the Act of running or shipping contrary to Law. Too great a Latitude for such Proceedings may thus be left, and some Regulations pointed at the inland Removal of Tobacco and Snuff, order to bring the same more under the Inspection and Control of the Officers of the Customs, may, be wanting.
We think it is also worthy of Consideration, whether it may not be judged advisable, to require the Persons who manufacture the, Article, to take out a Licence from the Resident Governor, or Lieutenant Governor, to authorise them to carry on their Trade, (such Licences to be obtained gratuitously,) and to give Bond and Security, to be no ways privy or consenting to, or concerned directly or indirectly in the, illegal Importation, Concealment, Removal, Carriage coastwise, or Exportation of Tobacco, in a manufactured or unmanufactured State; nor knowingly to harbour, or take into their Custody, Tobacco so imported, or intended to be carried or exported; nor to apply thereto any Process of Manufacture whatever. At the fame Time, it is but just to observe, that this Suggestion does not arise from any Intimation given us of undue Conduct on the Part of the Manufacturers, but is offered as a mere Matter of general Precaution, touching an Object of much Importance to Revenue.
Salt.
As an Encouragement to the Fisheries of the Isle of Man, the Drawback of Duties upon Salt exported thither from Great Britain is allowed; and Salt so imported is riot subject to any Insular Duty 1 which Privilege and Exemption include the of the Article by the Inhabitants.
By the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, an absolute Prohibition is laid upon Exportation of Salt from the Island; but by the 12th George the Third, Cap. 58, any Fisherman inhabiting the Isle of Man is allowed to. load on board any Vessel or Boat employed in the Fishery on the Coasts thereof, a sufficient Quantity of Salt for curing the Cargoes of Herrings taken, upon giving Bond that it shall only be so used, and not landed in any Part of Great Britain, or transhipped; and on return, Oath is made to those Facts, according to the Provisions of the Act Under this Right [47] to take in Salt for, and the Pretext of the same having been expended in the Fisheries, or by the clandestine and surreptitious carrying away the Article from the Island. in Boats or other Craft, there is every Reason to believe that Frauds of great Enormity are committed.
The improvident Method in which Salt imported from Great Britain is delivered, and Certificate for the Drawback granted, has been adverted to. The Control exercised by the Officers in taking an Account of the Quantity of Salt shipped on Bond for the Fisheries, on board the Manks Boats and Smacks, is equally insufficient; and no Admeasurement, Weighing, Comparison, or Check at all, are directed to the Quantity brought back: The Proprietor swears to what Consumption or Return he pleases, and having so done, at once gets Possession of the Article. Nothing can be more obvious than the Ease with which a Variety of Frauds may attend this whole Process. The Plans suggested by the several Officers in remedy of such Abuses, though differing in some Particulars, agree in the main Points, and have the Sanction of the corresponding Opinion of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Island. They are nearly as follow: That Warehouses should be provided at the four Towns, of the Island, Douglas, Castletown, Peel, and Ramsay, in which all Salt imported, whether British or Foreign, should after due Entry be lodged; that separate Apartments should therein be provided for Salt belonging to the respective Fish-Curers, and for Salt meant for home Consumption; that the Salt deposited for the Fisheries, under the joint Custody of the Officer and Proprietor, should be delivered to the Fish-Curers at the Commencement of each Season; and that at the Termination thereof, the Fish-Curers should be obliged to return on Oath, to the proper Officer, an Account of the Salt, expended by them in curing Fish during the same, and deliver the Remainder to be weighed and lodged in the Manner above described, a previous Comparison having been made by the Officer, of the Quantity returned with that delivered out, and of Herrings cured; that the Fish-Curers should not be allowed to import Salt, until they had fitted up proper Cellars, and were put under Security.
These Regulations, as far as they go, appear to be fit.
The Basis of them, in fact, is a proposed Extension of certain of the Salt Laws of Great Britain to the Isle of Man. Various farther Provisions contained in those Laws, might with equal Benefit, we think, be so extended. The great Object, if it could be, devised, would, be to establish some fixed Proportion between the Quantity of Salt consumed and the Number of Fish cured, and to affix a Penalty by the Bushel on Salt not so accounted for, taking Care that the Proof of the Curing be as specific, close, and, Complete, as the Nature thereof will bear.
What we would recommend is, that such of the Salt Laws as upon careful Examination shall be found meet, may be selected and applied to the Isle of Man, with Alterations and Additions where required.
And here, as in the Execution of any Plan adopted, Regard must he had to the Scale of Business, and Number of Officers in the Island; and the Objective, to render a small Establishment, capable, active, and, efficient, and to create no more additional Expence to Government than is unavoidable.
The Proposals of the Officers also go to the warehousing Salt for internal Consumption, and the Appointment of a proper Person under Security at each of the four Towns to retail the Article to the Inhabitants of those Towns and the adjacent Country.
[48] We doubt of the Expediency of this Measure, and how far it might be practicable with Convenience to the distant Inhabitants.
Probably the Enactments, that no Person should be permitted to deal in Salt by Wholesale or Retail, unless licensed by the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, and on giving Security to be neither directly nor indirectly concerned in the illegal Importation, Exportation, or Carriage coastwise of the Article, nor knowingly to harbour or conceal Salt so imported, or meant to be so exported or carried; that no Person, being a Fish-Curer, should be qualified to obtain such Licence; that (as proposed by the Officers) no Salt should on any Pretence or Occasion be carried coastwise or water-born for home Consumption; that no Salt should be removed by Land but between Sunrise and Sunset, and then, if exceeding a certain Quantity, not unless with a Permit issued by some principal Officer of the Customs, and to be in force only for a limited Time.
These, or some such Regulations, backed by suitable Forfeitures and Penalties, might perhaps suffice, at all Events, we think the Proposal should be carried no farther, than to compel Salt for domestic Consumption to be warehoused, in the first Instance; and to restrain the licensed Dealers in the Article from purchasing, receiving into their Custody, or vending Salt, except it had been delivered from the Warehouse under a Permit, as above described.
Another Suggestion of the Officers, meant especially to prevent Frauds in respect of Salt, but calculated likewise to impede those on other Articles,, is a
Registry of Boats.
THEY propose, that all Boats, belonging to the Island, of whatever Size, employed in the Herring Fishery, should be registered, on Pain of Forfeiture.
By the Act of the 26th of His Majesty, Cap. 60, which takes in the Isle of Man, no Vessel, unless of the Burthen of Fifteen Tons, or decked, is required to have a Certificate of Registry.
The Officers state, that most of the Herring-Boats are under that Burthen, and not within the Obligation; and, therefore, advise an Insular Registry for Boats of such Description.
Whatever Regulation may tend to bring these Boats, with the Conduct of their Owners, under the Inspection of the Officers, in order to prevent their being made subservient, as they now are, to illegal Purposes, is extremely desirable: Any Impediment, however, to the fair Use of them, would be hurtful, and ought to be rejected.
We do not foresee, that the mere annual Act of entering the Boat at the Custom House, taking out a Licence, and giving Bond not to employ, or. allow her to be employed in any illicit Transaction, (due Care being had that no Delay nor Expence in the Nature of a Fee, Gratuity, or in any other way, be induced upon the Proprietor,) could occasion, material Hardship or Trouble; and therefore we are inclined to think, that under those Provisions, the Measure may be eligible.
The Officers farther remark, that "between the first Day of November, when the Fishing Season ends, and the first Day of May, when it begins, the Boats are not lawfully used, otherwise than in the Carriage of Limestones from one Port to another in the Island:" And propose, "that during such Interval, no Boats shall be allowed to sail from any Port or Place in the Isle of Man, without having first regularly cleared out at [49] one of the Custom Houses at the four Ports, on Pain of Forfeiture." Many of the Boats belong to Bays and Creeks remote from those Ports; and we are rather of Opinion, that the compelling his Clearance in such a Mode might be severe, and interrupt the Boat-Masters in occasional Pursuits not reprehensible, or possibly check their going out to the Relief of Vessels off the Coast in Distress and wanting Assistance. The Registry just suggested would also make the Precaution less needful. The obliging all Boats to clear out in the Manner described, whenever they sail for Great Britain, Ireland, or Foreign Parts, is very proper but no Fee, Gratuity, or Official Charge, should thereby be incurred.
By the Act last mentioned, Vessels and Boats in the Island within the Purview thereof, are bound to take out Certificates of Registry: But the Laws which make all Vessels or Boats of a certain Description liable to Seizure unless licensed by the Admiralty, do not appear to have affected the Isle of Man; it is very fit, and will be proposed they should, and as we apprehend that many of the Boats may then, by their Built, be under the Necessity of taking out Licences, some Method ought, we think to be devised, to render the obtaining them easy, and free. from Expence.
And, here we cannot omit to observe, that as the true and correct Admeasurement and Description of Vessels, in order that they may procure Certificates under the Register Act, or the Licences in question when necessary, require competent practical Skill, and may be attended with material Consequences, none but an Officer duly qualified should be entrusted with the Execution of the Service; an Object which has not hitherto been looked to as it ought in the Isle of Man.
Revision of Revenue Laws.
This Subject has before been alluded to, and we consider it to be of Moment, that the Revision of the Laws of Revenue which have at this Time Operation in the Island, as also a general Investigation how far those in force in, Great Britain and not in the Island, ought to have Efficacy there, should forthwith take place.
The British Parliament, by the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, applied to the Isle of Man, in large and general Terms, the whole System of Rules, Regulations, Penalties, and Forfeitures then existent, for the levying, collecting, paying, and recovering the Customs in Great Britain. As the Isle of Man now stands, unless in consequence of being named in or of some special wording of an Act, it is not deemed to be comprehended.
Many Laws highly important for the Guard of Revenue and Protection of fair Trade, have passed since that Period, and particularly within these late Years, which are not held to include the Island.
The Limits of the Hovering Laws, when extended to the Isle of Man, were three Leagues; they have since been carried to the Distance of four Leagues in Great Britain, but respecting the former they remain as before. This Diversity in the Extent of the Limits ought to cease; and if it should farther be thought right to enact, that any Vessel or Boat, which from her Built, Construction, or Equipment, the Nature of the Goods on board, or the Packages, Chests, or Casks containing the same, or any other Cause, becomes with her Cargo subject to Forfeiture when found hovering within Distance upon the Coasts of Great Britain, should for like Cause, and in like Manner, be forfeited upon the Coasts of the Isle of Man, it might, we think, greatly counteract [50] Smuggling in those Seas. Vessels from Foreign Parts, defined to run their Cargoes on the Coasts of Great Britain or Ireland, touching at or coming near the Island, for the Delivery of some Consignment, for Intelligence, or from any other Cause concerted or accidental, would by that Means be brought under the Arm of Law, and exposed to additional Risk and Annoyance in perpetrating their evil Intentions.
The Acts of His present Majesty, of the 19th, Cap. 69, the 24th, Cap. 47, the 26th, Cap. 40, the 27th, Cap. 32, and the 28th, Cap. 34, framed in whole or in part with an express view to the Prevention of Smuggling, and replete with Provisions found by Experience to be essentially useful and efficacious to the Accomplishment of that End, are not among the Revenue Laws of the Isle of Man; at least their being so is questionable, and in Practice they have not been established.
The Safety and Welfare of Revenue demand, that Laws of this salutary Tendency, as far as applicable, should no longer be thus withheld. Whether other Acts or Clauses of Acts, some of a restrictive Nature, some holding forth Privilege and Encouragement, do or do not take [effect] in the Island, are Points which may admit of Doubt.
It is expedient, that all Perplexity as to the Operation of those Laws should be removed; that the Manks Merchant should understand clearly and precisely what Regulations he is bound to obey, and what Benefits he is entitled to enjoy; and the Officer what Laws are to govern him in the Execution of his Duty,
It would therefore, we think, be a Measure beneficial to Revenue and Trade, that the several Clauses bearing upon the Isle of Man, now scattered in different Acts of Parliament, as also those not yet reaching the Island, but intended hereafter to be in force there, together with the Acts having it specially in view, should be revised, explained where ambiguous, collected, and digested into one Act; and that a regulated Table of the Insular Duties of Customs should thereto be annexed.
And as the Object of such Act would be to place the Island in some Degree upon new and definite Ground touching the Matters in Contemplation, and most especially to put an End to illicit Practices in Time to come, we would propose that past Offences, not of too heinous a Nature to be pardoned, committed by any of the Inhabitants against the Revenue Laws of Great Britain or the Island, should be forgiven, and a general Indemnity for that Purpose be therein declared.
The Suggestions we have offered may, we hope, be instrumental, to the Suppression of illegal Practices in the Isle of Man, and conduce to those very important Objects, the Security and Benefit of the Revenues of Great Britain and Ireland.
We cannot but regard the Welfare of the Island as intimately and inseparably connected with the Success of Exertions directed to that End.
In proportion, as any remaining Inclinations, which may lead to sinister and unjustifiable Traffic, are rooted out in the Island, so far, are we persuaded, will a Relish for honest Industry and Enterprize gain Strength; and the Growth of Trade and Manufactures, the Improvement of Agriculture, the Extension of the Fisheries, and with them the Advancement of the Isle of Man to a more flourishing State, be ensured.
5th, PROPOSALS for the RELIEF or BENEFIT of the INHABITANTS in respect of TRADE.
THE Rule laid down for our Conduct touching Propositions of the. above Tendency is, that we should attentively weigh them, and report our Opinion upon any Suggestions offered to us, which may not be incompatible with the Security of the Revenues of Great-Britain and Ireland.
How far it may be assumed, that a general Adherence to the System of Regulations and Restrictions, which have been imposed upon the Trade of the Isle of Man, is no longer necessary to the Ends for which it was framed, nor expedient; and if so, in what Particulars a Departure therefrom may with Safety be introduced; are Subjects complicate and difficult in their Nature, and important in their Consequences.
On the one Hand, Innovations of the. Kind in question cannot but be attended with some Degree of Hazard and Uncertainty as to the Issue, and where apparently justified by Circumstances, are with Caution to be admitted.
On the other Hand, it seems to accord with Reason and Justice, that the Isle of Man should be allowed to enjoy, those internal Advantages, and to participate in those external Sources of Happiness and Prosperity, which Great Britain has the Power to impart, provided the Communication may no way become hurtful to her own [Interests], or those which she is bound to protect. In fact, the Progress of the Manks Fisheries, Commerce. and Population must augment the Stock of Seamen, Shipping, and Subjects appertaining to the Empire, and the general Increase of Revenue be promoted by the: Enlargement and Diffusion of the Insular Trade through fair Channels. And here it seems fit to advert to a Consideration of material Weight, in looking to the farther opening of the Trade of the Isle of Man.
Where the constant and solid Returns of legal and avowed Commerce are understood and enjoyed, the perilous, irregular, and dishonest Gains of illicit Traffic must decline in Estimation, and the criminal Habits themselves become odious and forsaken. Thence it follows, that Opportunity and Encouragement, held forth to apply Labour, Skill, and Capital to fair Lines of Trade and Manufacture, are justly to be deemed among the best Means of extirpating any Remains of ancient Predilection for Pursuits of a contrary Kind, which still unfortunately exist in the Island.
Viewing the Matters referred to us in this Light; aware that various Grounds for Deliberation above our Sphere and Capacity may mix with Discussions of this Kind; it would ill become us to confide in our judgment, to obtrude any light or rash Opinion, or to submit, but with Distrust, such as we might think in a Degree warranted.
We, are farther compelled to observe, that we lie under additional Embarrassment from the Circumstance, that the Interests of Ireland stand connected with this Branch of our Investigation: Whatever Desire and Intention we have to pay due Regard to the Trade and Revenue of that Kingdom, yet, being ignorant of her Laws, Regulations, and Policy respecting those Objects, we are in want of the Data from which alone any founded Conclusion could be drawn, how far she might or might not be affected by Measures adopted for the Encouragement of the Trade of the Isle of Man.
In respect of Ireland, we have however the satisfactory Consideration, that every successful Attempt we shall have made to institute a better System of Management in the [52] Isle of Man, and to put a stop to illicit Practices there must operate directly or collaterally to secure the Collection of her Revenue, the Welfare of her Trade, and the Observance of her Laws wherever either of them at present sustain Injury from a fraudulent Intercourse between the Coasts of that Kingdom and the Island.
We shall now go on-to the Suggestions contained in the Papers delivered in relative this Head, making them severally the Subjects of distinct Consideration; and endeavouring, after what has just been premised to fulfil, to the best of our Ability the Duty we have it in command to execute.
Subjoined, in the Appendix, are a Series of Accounts required, in order that, the several Privileges and Restraints, directed to the Trade of the Island, might be seen in a collective View.
Licensed Articles.
'THE Articles imported into the Isle of Man, by Licence from the Commissioners of the Customs, are British Spirits, Rum of the British Plantations, Tea, Coffee, Tobacco, and British Refined Sugar. They must all be exported from England, except certain Portion of the annual Quantity of Rum allowed, which may be exported from Scotland. The legal Restriction touching these Articles is not confined to Quantity, but in the Exportation of some of them it goes to Ports.
The Lieutenant Governor of the Island, the House of Keys, and the Inhabitants the principal Towns, by their several Statements or Memorials, more or less unite in representing, that a heavy and needless Grievance arises out of the present System these licensed Importations.
It is alledged, that a Monopoly is thereby introduced, to the Prejudice of the Island; that British Merchants and Traders, particularly in the Instances of Tobacco and Rum, contrive, by early Application to the Commissioners of the Customs, to secure the Right of importing the total annual Quantity of the Articles admitted; and that thus having the Supply of the Wants and Necessities of the Inhabitants in their Power, they furnish the Commodities in some Measure at their own Option in Point of Quality and Price.
The Revenue Officers confirm this Representation, as far as they are enabled so to do, by a Knowledge of what passes in the Island.
The Act of the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, instituted the Mode of licensing the Articles in question, Sugar excepted, which was added by the 26th George the Third, Cap. 36. No Ports appear to be selected by the first-mentioned Act, the Words being any 'Port in England'— the latter names Liverpool.
The 20th George the Third, Cap. 42, which admits the Exportation of Part of the Rum to be from Scotland, does not particularize any Port.
Tobacco may be exported to the Isle of Man, from any of the English Ports enumerated in the Act of the 29th George the Third, Cap. 68, to which the Export of all Tobacco from England is confined.
We apprehend, that under the present Laws, this Exportation of Goods to the Isle of Man by Licence is cramped, respecting Ports, no otherwise than in the general Limitation to England above described, and in the particular Instance of Sugar.
[53] The Law does not make any Distinction concerning licensed Articles in favour of the Island Merchants or Traders, nor vest the Commissioners of the Customs with an Authority to give such Preference: The Liberty of applying is equally open to any of His Majesty's Subjects, and Licences are granted to Persons of that Description who apply conformably with the Directions of the Legislature and the Rules prescribed.
Every Condition material to the Objects had in View, namely, a Limitation in Quantity, and a Guard against the Misapplication or Abuse of the Licence, is indispensible, and must be insisted upon. Here the Necessity appears to stop; the Right of Conveyance seems rather to be a Circumstance than an Essential.
Upon that Ground we are of Opinion, that a Request, very generally preferred by the Inhabitants of the Island, to be indulged with an exclusive Privilege to import these licensed Articles, is not objectionable; at least so far as to give them a Priority of Privilege.— In the Event, however, of that Concession, it ought, we think, to be enacted, that any Person having obtained a Licence, and offending against any of the legal Provisions, Restrictions, and Penalties attached to that Mode of Importation, should in Addition to the specific Punishment provided, be In future disqualified for obtaining such Licence.
By this Indulgence the Profit upon the Trade in question will be drawn to the Island, and the Accommodation of the Inhabitants may he furthered without Danger to Revenue; on the contrary, in the Opinion of the Officers, the Regulation will tend to the Discouragement of Smuggling. But it seems to be a necessary Precaution for the Inhabitants themselves, to direct that the Manks Merchants, Traders, or Natives should, within a limited Time from the Commencement of the Dates for these yearly Importations, signify their Desire to the Commissioners of the Customs to import the respective Quantities of the Articles allowed, by Law; and on Failure of their so doing, that any other of His Majesty's Subjects might have Liberty to apply and procure Licences for exporting to the Isle of Man the whole or residue of the several Articles not so applied for. And also that every Person who had obtained these Licences should be bound by Oath, unless some unavoidable Impediment happened, of which Proof should afterwards be made, to import into the Island the Quantity expressed in the Licence and with no greater Delay than might be reasonable.
The Purport of these Suggestions is, to secure the inhabitants from the ill Effects of any internal Combination relative to licensed Articles, especially such as Tobacco and Spirits, which can only be imported in gross Quantities; and to prevent Licences from being sought after with a View to forestal the right of Exportation to the Isle of Man, where there was no immediate Intention to act upon them.
Touching those Parts of the before mentioned Statements and Memorials, wherein a Restriction to particular Ports is complained of, and it is urged that the Markets being thereby narrowed, and the common Advantages of Dealing cut off, an indirect Sort of Monopoly is occasioned, and the Price of the Article enhanced; it has already been observed, how far in our Apprehension that Restraint subsists.
The only Extension which could be granted in the Case of Tobacco, would be to allow the annual Quantity thereof fixed for the Island, to be exported either indiscriminately from the Tobacco Ports of Great Britain, or to divide that Quantity in certain Proportions between England and Scotland, as obtains in the Case of Rum.
It may not be improper in this Place, to observe, that by the Act of the 29th of His Majesty above-mentioned, the Return of a Certificate of the landing of the Tobacco [54] exported to the Isle of Man does not seem to be provided for, a Defect which may want Remedy.
Refined Sugar being an Article entitled to a very high Bounty on Exportation, and it is to be feared often made the Subject of Fraud, ought to be watched with peculiar Care, and a general Latitude of Choice in respect of Ports might on that Account be exceptionable.
Liverpool is a contiguous Port, where great Importation of the raw Material takes place, and a wide Market for the Article in a manufactured State must be offered; and we should think, that under the Privilege just suggested in favour of the Island, all material Inconvenience would be done away.
If the opening this Export of Refined Sugar to the Isle of Man from both England and Scotland is approved of some considerable West India Port belonging to the latter Country might with Propriety be added to Liverpool.
The remaining Articles at present licensed are, British Spirits, Tea, and Coffee. We have before submitted for Consideration, whether the first, in the Event of an admitted Importation of Foreign Brandy, might not wholly be prohibited on the Island; the sole Relief which the Inhabitants can legally need touching the two other Articles, is the Liberty of optional Importation, within the Quantities permitted, from England and Scotland.
Hitherto, the Persons exporting and the Ports of Exportation have been considered, and Regard had to the Island at large.
A Complaint of another Kind is contained in some of the Memorials, in which the Inhabitants are not universally concerned, or rather where their mutual Interests may be at Variance.
By all the Acts, licensed Articles can be imported into. no other Port of the Isle of Man than Douglas.
The Dealers and Inhabitants of Castletown, Peel, and Ramsay, contend that this Restriction operates much to their Injury; that the After-Conveyance of the Articles by Sea or Land augments considerably the Price of them, and places the Traders of Douglas in a Situation comparatively very advantageous; and that a farther Detriment ensues, inasmuch as the Country People are tempted by a more reasonable Purchase of those Commodities, to repair to Douglas with the Produce of their Lands and Provisions, which debars the other Towns from being supplied with Necessaries at so cheap a Rate, or with equal Plenty.
The primary Consideration to which it is our Duty to look, is the Safety of Revenue.
Douglas has no doubt been thus uniformly selected by the Legislature for the Importation of licensed Articles, as being the principal Port of the Island, and having an Establishment, of Officers the most complete and sufficient.
The Ports of Derby Haven, Peel, and Ramsay, especially Peel, are at present very weak in their Establishments; indeed, the Collection at either of them is trifling, and they may rather be regarded in the Light of preventive than productive Ports. It would be unfit that a Duty of, Importance, and requiring Attention and Correctness, should [55] be executed at those Ports, while in such a State. If. at any future Period they should be rendered altogether equal in point of Officers to the Discharge thereof, the Obstacle, as far as the Concerns of Revenue are involved, would cease.
A material Good would result from admitting licensed Articles into those Ports directly from Great Britain; no Reason for their being carried coastwise could in that Case exist, that Mode of Conveyance is of a dangerous Nature, as being greatly exposed to fraudulent Practices; and an absolute Prohibition of the Removal or Carriage coastwise in the Isle of Man, of any Article imported by Licence from Great Britain, under Forfeiture and Penalty, might then and ought to be enacted.
Should it be judged proper to relieve the Inhabitants, reflecting licensed Articles, in the Ways proposed, or in any other, the Executive System must be remodelled, so as to carry into effect the Alterations adopted; and the Adequacy of the different Suggestions given in with that View, and contained in the Appendix, may then be discussed.
Foreign Brandy and Geneva.
THE Application of the Inhabitants, to be permitted to import annually by Licence, a limited Quantity of these respective Articles, we have had Occasion to confider under the two preceding Heads of this Part of our Report, and an Opinion has been given in favour of the Expediency of the Measure properly regulated.
Tonnage of Vessels.
THE Restrictions in regard to the Tonnage of Vessels, form another Matter of Complaint on the Part of the Inhabitants.
The Hardship is stated to bear principally upon the Intercourse with Great Britain for licensed and bonded Articles; but also to be felt in the Importation of Wine from Foreign Parts.
They submit, that in the former Cafe, where a Certificate of Landing is required to cancel the Bond given in Great Britain, and to entitle to Drawback, no Limitation of Tonnage is necessary, or if any be so, that it ought not to exceed Thirty Tons.
We apprehend, that under the Excise Laws, by the 33d George the Second, Cap. 9, the Exportation of British Spirits for Allowance or Bounty, is restricted to Vessels not of less Burthen than One Hundred Tons.
By the 33d George the Second, Cap. 28, Rum of the Growth, Produce, and Manufacture of the British Sugar Plantations, is not to be exported for the Drawback in any Vessel of less Burthen than One Hundred Tons.
By the 6th George the Third, Cap. 46, British Plantation Rum may be exported as Merchandize to Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland, in Vessels not being of less Burthen than Seventy Tons; but there is no such Provision for the Isle of Man.
By the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, Rum, with other Articles enumerated, exported to the Isle of Man by virtue of Licence, shall be entitled to the like Drawbacks, [56] but under the same Conditions as are prescribed for such Goods when exported from Great Britain to Ireland.
The Act of the 12th George the Third, Cap. 60, enacts, That no Tea shall be exported to Ireland, or the British Colonies or Plantations, in any Ship of less Burthen than Eighty Tons. And the Act of the 20th George the Third, Cap. 42, which grants a Drawback of the Duties of Customs on Tea exported to the Isle of Man, directs that Allowance to be made under Regulations and Restrictions similar with those required on the like Export to Ireland.
By the Act of 29th George the Third, Cap. 68, Tobacco is not to be exported to any Parts beyond the Seas, Ireland excepted, in any Ship or Vessel, unless the same shall be of the Burthen of Seventy Tons or upwards; and the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and the Isle of Man, are again expressly named in this general Limitation of Tonnage, respecting the Export of the Article.
The Export of Coffee is not limited to any Tonnage, nor that of Sugar, except by 6th George the Third, Cap. 52, in the peculiar Case of Sugars imported from the British Colonies and Plantations on the Continent of America, and warehoused, which must not be exported in any Ship or Vessel of less Burthen than Seventy Tons.
By the 5th George the Third, Cap. 19, Wine may not be imported into the Isle of Man, in any Ship or Vessel of less Burthen than One Hundred Tons.
The 20th George the Third, Cap. 42, admits the Importation of Wine into the Island, French Wines or any Wines from France excepted, in Vessels of Seventy Tons Burthen.
From the Operation of some of the Acts above-mentioned, the Inconvenience complained of must, we presume, arise; and the Extent thereof materially rest upon the Tonnage of the Shipping belonging to the Island, and the consequent Means the inhabitants have to employ their own Vessels in the transport of the Articles specified.
Information in this View of the Subject may be had from the Accounts annexed, which contain Lists of all the Vessels registered in the different Ports of the Isle of Man, with various Particulars respecting them. It thence appears, that two Vessels exceeding the Burthen of One Hundred Tons, and two others that of Seventy, belong to Douglas; that one Vessel exceeding the Burthen of Seventy Tons by a Fraction, belongs to Derby Haven; that at Peel, the largest Vessel is somewhat more than Forty-two Tons; that at Ramsay there is one above a Hundred Tons; and that most of the other Vessels at the several Ports are of a lower Tonnage than any mentioned.
The Act of the 7th George the Third, already cited, seems to place the Isle of Man upon the same Footing with Ireland, relative to the Articles exported to the former by Licence.
In regard of licensed Articles shipped in Great Britain, on Bond to return a Certificate for the due landing thereof in the Island, there does not appear to be any Reason or Necessity for affixing a higher Tonnage than is required in the Case of the like Exports to Ireland: But a general Exemption from Restraint in Tonnage, relative to the Importation of licensed or bonded Articles, or the Reduction suggested, would by no Means be adviseable.
[57] The Importation of Wine from Foreign Parts into the Isle of Man, may, we think, for the Easement of the Inhabitants, be permitted, in Vessels which shall exceed the Burthen of Sixty Tons, as in Great Britain; an Indulgence which may the more safely be given, under the Application of the Manifest Act to the Island, already recommended.
The Complaint of the Inhabitants does not obviously extend to the Tonnage required by Law for Vessels used in the Coast Carriage of certain Articles. Lest it should be so understood, it may be right to observe, that the Tonnage in that Cafe specially prescribed, ought not in our Opinion to be lowered.
This Transport coastwise of the Articles in question, we cannot but apprehend may, without much Difficulty, be made the Cover and Vehicle for perpetrating Frauds against Revenue; and it therefore demands especial Caution, and ought, where practicable, to be discouraged.
In truth, we are disposed to think, that it deserves Consideration whether, if instead of allowing Six Months to cancel the Coast Bonds in the Isle of Man, as is now done under the general Direction of the British Coast Laws, the same should not be limited to Two or at the utmost to Three Months. Adverting to the Compass of the Island, no Inconvenience to Trade could, it should seem, thereby be occasioned; and a more close Attention to, and speedy Punishment for any Transgressions committed through that Channel of Conveyance, would follow; and we think, possibly to good Effect.
Corn and Grain.
The Inhabitants prefer a Request, to be entitled to all Bounties and Drawbacks on Corn exported from Great Britain or Ireland to the Isle of Man; and state as a Grievance, that they are confided to Ports on the Exportation of the Article from Great Britain.
The Allowance of Bounty or Drawback on Malt and Barley exported to the Isle of Man, was withheld by the Seventh of His Majesty.
We are not aware, that any other Distinction unfavourable to the Island, respecting Bounties or Drawbacks on Corn and Grain exported, subsists. The Act of the 31st of His Majesty, Cap. 30, does not, however, render this Matter altogether so plain and. determinate as to take off Doubt upon the Subject; and we rather think the Intention of the Legislature needs some Explanation in order that the Advantages, which were meant to be given or denied the Isle of Man touching this Export, may be fully understood.
The general Export of Grain to the Isle of Man, is not, in our Apprehension, fettered by any peculiar Confinement to Ports. When the governing Prices admit of Exportation, Corn of every Sort may be exported from any Port in Great Britain as freely to the Island as to any other Part of the World. During Times of Embargo or Prohibition, by the 31st of His Majesty just cited, Wheat, Wheat-Meal, or Flower, Barley, Oats, not exceeding in Quantity Two Thousand Five Hundred Quarters, may be exported in one Year, for the Sustenance and Use of the Inhabitants of the Isle of Man, from Whitehaven, Liverpool, and Kirkcudbright, in certain Proportions specified; and this appears to be the sole Restriction or Limitation on the Export of Corn or Grain from Great Britain to the Island.
[58] The Liberty of Exportation at such Periods, though granted for the essential Object of aiding and relieving His Majesty's Subjects out of the Realm, is in itself an Indulgence; and it is of public Concern, that the Article should be well watched, so as not to be diverted from its intended Destination; which we conceive to be one Cause for the Selection of Ports.
The Nature of the Hardship represented by the Inhabitants is, that Liverpool and Whitehaven are Ports injudiciously chosen, inasmuch as Corn is not the Produce of the circumjacent Counties, but must first be brought in from other Parts to be exported from those Places; and they state as a Fact, that Corn has been imported into the Isle of Man from Scotland round by Whitehaven, having been first entered and landed at that Port.
How far this partial and occasional Inconvenience may operate materially to the Detriment of the Island, or whether it may or may not be expedient, in remedy thereof, to alter the System recently settled by Parliament, we leave for Determination.
Hops.
The Inhabitants request that they may be allowed the same Drawback on Hops exported from Great-Britain to the Isle of Man, as is paid upon their Exportation to Ireland.
The Act of the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, as has been observed, appears to place the Isle of Man, in respect of Drawbacks upon certain Articles, from. which Malt and Barley are excepted, on the same Ground with Ireland.
By the 9th of Anne, Cap. 12, a Drawback of the Duties on Hops of British Growth exported to that Kingdom was granted; but Foreign Hops were excluded from any such Allowance.
The 6th George the First, Cap. 11, takes off the above Drawback in the Cafe of British Hops, and consequently at the Time of the Act of 7th George the Third, no Drawback whatever was allowed on Hops exported to Ireland; though we apprehend Malt and Barley exported did not stand in a similar Predicament.
The Act of the 20th George the Third, Cap. 18, repeals the Act which directed that no Part of the Duties on Hops exported to Ireland, whether of Foreign or British Growth, should be drawn back; and the greater Part of the Duty on Foreign, and the whole of the Duty on British-grown Hops, so exported, are now repaid.
This Desire of the Inhabitants to enjoy a similar Benefit with Ireland seems to us not to be unreasonable, nor liable to Objection, provided the same Cause, whatever it may be, which operates to preclude them from Bounty or Drawback on Barley and Malt, does not render a Compliance therewith inexpedient.
If the Drawback oil the Exportation of Hops to the Isle of Man is allowed, the Regulations directed in the Case of Ireland by the 26th George the Third, Cap. 5. may be applicable. In the event of this Allowance, Hops imported into the Isle of Man from Great Britain, for which Drawback had been received, might perhaps be properly added to the List of Articles prohibited to be exported from the Island.
[59]
Herring Fishery.
The Inhabitants state it as a Hardship, and an Injury to the Herring Fishery, that they are debarred from the Advantage of a Bounty of One Shilling the Barrel on Herrings, granted by the Act of 26th George the Third, Cap. 81; and as they alledge, under the 27th George the Third, Cap. 10, paid to the Fish Curers of Liverpool and Yarmouth.
This Bounty was received in the Isle of Man in the Year 1787, on Herrings cured either Red or White; but by subsequent Interpretation of the first-mentioned Act, has since that Time been discontinued to the former, and is now only paid on Herrings cured White, which make an Object of comparatively inconsiderable Importance, the principal Curing in the Island being Red; and much Expence having been incurred in constructing proper Houses and Accommodations for that Purpose.
The Extension and Improvement of the British Fisheries is declared to be the Object of the Act of the 26th of His Majesty; and the Intention of the Legislature that due and equal Encouragement with that granted to His Majesty's other British Subjects shall be given to the Inhabitants of, the Isle of Man, employed in the said Fisheries, is therein clearly expressed. In Consonance with the Principle thus laid down, the Inhabitants of the Island ought to participate equally with those of Great Britain in the Benefit of the Bounties allowed.
If, therefore, the Fact alledged of the Payment of this Shilling Bounty on Herrings cured Red, according to the legal Requisites, to the Liverpool and Yarmouth Fisheries, prove upon Inquiry to be, as we are given to understand it is, correct, the Inhabitants appear to have a just Title to a similar Construction of the Law, or to an Explanation thereof, should it be requisite, in order that the proper Officer in the Isle of Man may be authorized and directed to apply the Bounty in question to their Fisheries.
Some of the Statements mention the Payment of the Herring Custom as a Circumstance of Discouragement peculiar to the Fisheries of the Isle of Man, and intimate that Relief in respect thereof is desired.
The Antiquity and Appropriation of this Payment have before been stated.
It is true that the British Herring Fisheries are not subject to any similar Burthen; but we should think that the comparatively low Price of the necessary Articles of Life in the Island, and a Freedom from the many Impositions laid on in Great-Britain, must fully counterbalance the Disadvantage set forth.
At all Events, the long Existence of this Custom, and the Nature of its Application, would stand as weighty Obstacles in the Way of any Invasion of the Fund.
The Merchants of Douglas object to the Form of the Oath which they are required by Law to take on exporting their Herrings, namely, "That they were caught on the Coasts of the Isle of Man." They observe, "That the Limits of the Coast are not so ascertained as to admit of the Oath with Propriety, and that they apprehend it is not meant to confine their Fishing Smacks or Boats within any given Limits in the Pursuit of the Fish on the Sea Coasts, contiguous to or on the British Seas surrounding the Island;" and request "that the Oath may be altered to Herrings caught in the British Seas, and cured in the Isle of Man."
[60] The general Purport and Intent of the Oath required to entitle to Bounties of this Nature, as far as we can presume to judge, is not to cramp the Fisheries, or check Enterprise in the Prosecution of them, but to take Care that the Incentive and Benefit so held forth should be strictly confined to those of His Majesty's Subjects for whom they were designed, and to the Produce of the Skill and Industry employed by them in the Occupation of fishing on Seas adjoining to the Coasts of Great Britain. If this Interpretation be founded, and it was meant that the Term Coasts, when applied to the Manks Fisheries, should be taken in a large Sense; and that Herrings caught in any Part of the British Channel, and cured in the Island, should come within the Purview of the Bounty, the Objection stated by the Merchants of Douglas, might be removed by making the Oaths somewhat to the following Effect:
That the Herrings were bona fide caught in the British Seas in Vessels or Boats fitted out by, and belonging to, his Majesty's Subjects in the Isle of Man, and were landed in the said Island, and cured there.
Should any Alteration in the present Form of the Oath be thought requisite, it might be a Matter of Caution to express that the Herrings were not bought or received out of any Foreign Vessel or Boat, nor to the Knowledge and Belief of the Person making the Affidavit, caught by any such Vessel or Boat. And should the Plan of warehousing Salt in the Island be adopted, to add, that the Herrings were cured of Salt delivered from such Warehouse or Warehouses, specifying the Port, and Date of the Delivery thereof, and to whom.
A farther Representation, connected with the Herring Fishery, was made: This stated, that Foreign Herrings are imported into our West India Islands from Ireland, large Quantities thereof being annually brought to Cork from Gottenburgh, where they are purchased at Seven Shillings and Sixpence the Barrel; and that though liable to a high Duty in Ireland, yet such Duty is drawn back on Exportation of the Herrings, to the great Prejudice of the British Fisheries, as well as those of Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Should this Statement be accurate, the Trade of Great Britain in the Article of Herrings exported to the Plantations, appears to be exposed to Disadvantage. Foreign Herrings are prohibited to be imported into Great Britain, and, consequently, if the Trade in question was admissible without the Danger of discouraging our own Fisheries, it could not take place from this Country.
The governing Principle of the Act of the 12th George the Third, Cap. 10, which gave to Ireland the Benefit of trading to the British Colonies and Plantations in America and the West 1ndies, and the British Settlements on the Coast of Africa, was, that His Majesty's Subjects in both Kingdoms should carry on the Trade at equal Advantage; accordingly, Provision is made therein, that the Goods so allowed to be, imported into, or exported from Ireland, to the said Colonies, Plantations, and Settlements respectively, shall be subject to equal Duties and Drawbacks as obtain on similar Importation into, or Exportation from Great Britain.
A mutual System of Forbearance on the Part of Ireland, in respect of Articles prohibited to be imported into Great Britain, and, consequently, not exportable from thence to the said Plantations, Colonies, and Settlements, does not seem to have been established; and if so, for want thereof the Evil complained of may have arisen.
[61] The Matter represented importing to affect so valuable an' Object as the British, Irish, and Isle of Man Fisheries, we thought it to be our Duty to lay the Communication received before Government.
Cotton Manufactory.
The Petition annexed, signed Abraham de la Pryme, was presented to us when in the Island; it respects Six Hundred and Thirty Pounds of Yarn, and Six Pieces of Cloth manufactured of Cotton Wool, the Growth of the British Plantations; which Wool had been imported from Liverpool, detained at that Port upon Importation from the Isle of Man, for the Payment of Duty.
It represents, that the Petitioner removed to the Island in the Year 1779, at a great Expence, and erected a Mill and other Buildings, for the Purpose of carrying on a Manufactory of spinning and weaving Cotton, and has ever since employed therein a great Number of the Inhabitants.
That for ten Years, the Article so manufactured had been exported by proper Certificate to Liverpool, and admitted Duty free, as being the Manufacture of the Isle of Man.
The Petitioner farther adds, that if Redress be not obtained, he shall be under the Necessity of giving up his Manufactory, and quitting the Island.
The Lieutenant-Governor subjoins a Certificate, as to his Belief of the Facts alleged, and in favour of the Petition.
The Act of the 5th George the Third, Cap. 43, admits Bestials, and any Goods, Wares, and Merchandize, of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of the Isle of Man, exclusive of Woollen Manufactures, Beer, and Ale, to be imported from thence into Great Britain, without Payment of any Duty, except such Excise or other Duty as is or shall be payable on the like Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of Great Britain: But this Permission is guarded by a Clause in the Act, so as not to include any Goods or Commodities of the Growth or Product of any Foreign Nation or Country, which may be in Part or fully manufactured in the said Island, except Linen Manufactures made there of Hemp or Flax, not the Produce of the Island.
The 7th George the Third, Cap. 45, allows Cotton of the Growth, Production, or Manufacture of the British Colonies or Plantations in America, among Articles generally enumerated, to be imported into the Isle of Man from any Port in Great Britain, Duty free.
The Petitioner states that he did not apprehend Cotton Wool of the above Description, and spun in the Island, was to be deemed Foreign.
Without going into the Admissibility of such Construction, we think that in Consideration of the Practice having obtained for some Years, of the very few Manufactories which are established in the Island, and the Opinion of the Lieutenant-Governor that the one in question deserves Encouragement, the Request of the Petitioner for Relief ought to be complied with: And that the Admission of Cotton Yarn Duty free, granted to Ireland by the 18th of His Majesty, Cap. 56, should in like Manner, and subject to similar Regulations, be granted to the Isle of Man.
[62] If, however, in conformity with the Spirit of the above Act of the 7th George the Third, it is judged right to confine this Indulgence to Yarn spun from British Plantation Wool, and the Circumstance that Wool of such Description. alone is exempt from Duty on Importation into the Island from Great Britain, is not thought sufficient to produce that Effect&, a Distinction will be necessary; as none obtains in the Case of Ireland, but Cotton Yarn generally, the Manufacture of that Country, is admitted into this Kingdom Duty free.
Hemp, Iron, Deal Boards, and Timber.
The above Articles, when imported into the Isle of Man from Foreign Parts, are subject to a Duty of Ten Pounds per Centum ad valorem for the same Articles, though Foreign, imported from Great Britain, a Duty of Two Pounds Ten Shillings per Centum ad valorem is only paid.
By the 7th George the Third, Five Pounds per Centum on the Value of those respective Articles was laid, and an additional Five Pounds, by the Twentieth of His Majesty.
The Merchants of Douglas complain, that this last Duty has been very prejudicial to the Commerce and Shipping of the Island.
They alledge, that it has forced the Inhabitants to an Importation of the Articles through Great Britain, (where a great Part of the inward Duties are drawn back on Exportation,) in preference to bringing them directly to the Isle of Man from the Places of their Growth or Produce; that Mode of Importation being ultimately least expensive, owing to the relative Difference of the insular Duty.
No Hemp whatever, they alledge, has been imported from Foreign Parts, since the Advance of Duty; for Proof of which Assertion they refer to the Custom-house Books; and they submit to the Wisdom and Justice of Parliament, that the Duties be reduced to Five Pounds per Centum ad valorem.
It appears to us, that the Articles pointed out are essential to the Island, and particularly so, as yielding Materials for the building and equipping of Vessels and Boats, in order to carry on the Fisheries, which have been specially attended to and cherished on the Part of Great Britain,
If the Object of the Increase of Duty, was to augment the Revenue of the Island, according to the above Statement, it has failed, and a contrary Effect been produced.
The Operation of the insular Duty laid upon these Articles, may be regarded in two farther Ways; the one, that of enforcing, by the Amount thereof, the circuitous Importation complained of, whereby a Profit on the Trade must accrue to the British Merchant, which would otherwise lodge with the Manks Merchant; and the Consumption or Use of the Articles must be loaded also with various Charges incident to such Importation. The other, that of taking Care to preclude the Island from obtaining the Materials at so easy a Rate, as to give undue Advantage in the building or Equipment of Vessels or Boats, to the Prejudice of Great Britain.
Were we to venture to offer an Opinion upon these Points, we should deem the former not to be the Object aimed at, and that the mercantile Gain upon the Trade, which now rests in Great Britain, and an Easement from the additional Expences con- [63] sequent to procuring the Articles through the British Markets, may be granted to the Island.
The latter, if in Contemplation, is an Object of great Importance and should any Abatement in the Amount of this insular Duty be thought meet, the utmost Attention must be had to find out and fix such a Medium for the same on each respective Article, as, whilst it might not obstruct the direct Importation treated of, would completely ward off all Danger to Great Britain, in Branches of her Trade highly material.
And, in this View. it behoves the more to have Regard to the Precaution, when the Price of Labour, Wages, and the Necessaries of Life in the Isle of Man, and the Exemption from all Taxes, (except on Licences for Public Houses, and on Dogs,) are considered.
It may not be superfluous to observe, that a Change of Principle in the Duty on the Articles in question has before been recommended; so that, at all Events. a Compliance with the Request contained in the Memorial, in whatever Degree fit, would, we think, require to be provided for, conformably with such Change, and not in the Way specified.
Tar, Salt, Oil, Tallow, and Fruits of all Kinds.
The Merchants of Douglas farther submit, that the Duty on the above Articles, which is at present Fifteen Pounds per Centum ad valorem on Importation from Foreign Parts, be reduced to Five Pounds per Centum, observing that the present Duty operates in a great Measure as a Prohibition.
This Duty remains as it was originally imposed by the 7th George the Third, Cap. 45.
The Suggestion is comprehensive, and goes to a material Decrease in the Rate of Duty. Although we have thought it right to notice the same, we must remark, that no good Ground in support thereof has occurred to us.
Warehouse at Douglas for Foreign European Goods.
A Proposition to the following Effect is contained in the Memorial of the Merchants of Douglas, which, if adopted, they state, will comprize several before suggested in their Memorial, and tend most essentially to the Augmentation of. the, Trade, and the Increase of the Revenue of the Isle: "That Douglas should be made a Warehouse or Repository for Foreign European Goods, such as Wines, Brandy, Geneva, Fruits of all Kinds, &c. All Foreign Goods to pay a small Duty on Importation, and to be in His Majesty's Storehouses at Douglas, under the Care of proper Officers, until exported in a limited Time to Great Britain or Ireland, subject to the respective Duties on Importation there, under sufficient Bond to return Certificate of due landing there at the Ports cleared out for: The Articles necessary for the Consumption of the Inhabitants, to be delivered out occasionally by Permit, on Payment of the rated Duties."
This Plan is big with Innovation, and strong Objections thereto present themselves.
[64] It militates against, or rather at once nearly does away, some of the principal Laws by which the Importations to, or Exportations from, the Isle of Man, with a View to Intercourse between the Island and Great Britain or Ireland, are governed: Various of the Articles enumerated are the Subjects of absolute or qualified inward or outward Prohibitions; and the insular Trade respecting them has uniformly been thought to require peculiar Strictness and Circumspection on the Part of this Country.
A Trade thus opened for several of the Articles in question, however watched and guarded, would, we apprehend, be fraught with much Danger to the Revenues of Great Britain and Ireland.
It does not seem very obvious how the Trade, if conducted upon Principles altogether fair by Revenue, could be likely to succeed. The Articles must first bear the Charges of being imported into, and unshipped in, the Isle of Man, of Payment of Duty there, of Capital laying dead during the Time they were warehoused, of Profit to the Isle of Man Merchant, and then all the subsequent Costs of Shipping, Freight, Insurance, and every other Kind, attending their Conveyance from the Island to Great Britain or Ireland.
Loaded with the accumulated Expence incident to these two Importations, it would appear, that they could not fail to come to the British or Irish Markets at a higher Price than by one direct Importation. Admitting, however, that the Trade, where fairly conducted, could surmount these Disadvantages, it might possibly be thought injurious to the Navigation of Great Britain and Ireland, by drawing from those respective Countries that Part of the Importation in question, which now employs their own Bottoms in immediate transport of the Articles from Foreign Countries to their own Ports.
We have farther to remark, that the Articles specified or alluded to in the Memorial (with the Exception of Bugles) are not permitted to be warehoused in Great Britain; and we cannot see any Reason why an exclusive Privilege of importing and warehousing, at a low Duty, Articles carrying a high Duty in Great Britain, and designed for the British Markets, should be granted to the Inhabitants of the Isle of Man. An Indulgence of the like Kind would equally be due to the Merchants of Great Britain.
The Expence to the Crown connected with this Plan, in erecting Warehouses, and making the necessary Additions to the Establishment of the Officers, though forming a different Kind of Consideration, is not to be overlooked.
Upon the whole, we can in no way take upon ourselves to recommend the Adoption of the Measure; not seeing how it can be made compatible with the security of the Revenues of Great Britain and Ireland.
The above Proposition appears partly to comprize one other contained in the said Memorial, and antecedent in point of Order, which is, "for Permission to import into the Isle of Man, Bugles, Beads, Brandy, and other Goods suited to the African Trade, in Return for Fish sent to Italy, and other Parts of the Mediterranean. with a Liberty for British Vessels outward-bound for Africa to touch at the Island, and take in Assortments of such Articles."
This Proposal being alike repugnant to some of the existent Laws respecting the Island itself, and to the positive System of legal Restriction upon all Vessels which sail from Great Britain or Ireland or any Part of Africa, or any of His Majesty's Dominions out of the Realm, and tending to revive a Communication pregnant with Danger to Revenue, we cannot but regard in the same Light as the one preceding.
[65] The Collector and Comptroller of Douglas, we observe, propose that certain Articles should be added to those allowed to be imported into the Isle of Man from Great Britain and Ireland, Duty free.
The Articles are, "Potatoes, Barley, (shelled,) Fruit the Growth of Great Britain or Ireland, Cheese, Oak Bark, which is necessary for barking the Nets and Sails of the Fishermen, as well as for the tanning of Leather, old Rags, and Ropes for the Paper Manufacture, School Books, and British Bar Iron."
They farther propose, "That Sheep to a limited Number, and under proper Restrictions, be allowed to be exported from Great Britain to the Isle of Man;" and in Answer to our Queries as to Number, suggested "Two Hundred annually."
The Collector of Ramsay in like Manner proposes, "That an annual Importation of a small Quantity of Sheep might be admitted;" and gives as a Reason, "that Sheep are sometimes smuggled into the Isle of Man from Scotland."
Requests to this Effect we do not find in the Statements or Memorials presented on the Part of the Inhabitants.
Agriculture and the Fisheries are two Objects in the Isle of Man undoubtedly entitled to particular Attention. Their Improvement, especially that of the former, which appears at present to be in a backward State, may be deemed, one essential previous Requisite to any solid Advancement of the Island towards a more prosperous Condition; and ought accordingly to be encouraged.
The Articles, other than School Books, recommended to be made exempt from Duty, are for Sustenance, the Use of the Fisheries, or of some Manufactures. We have more than once had Occasion to advert to the Price of Labour and the Necessaries of Life in the Island: How far, under that as well as other relative Points of View, the Indulgence in question might be wanted, or adviseable, we submit.
Should the Inhabitants regularly come forward, and state, that the Admission of a certain Number of Sheep every Year from Great Britain is material to the Amendment of the Insular Breed, and would be of general Utility, we should think the Application would merit to be well considered.
If thought to be a right Measure, the Number fixed might be exported by Licence, from Ports specified, under Bond and Security to return a Certificate of the due landing ,of the Sheep in the Island: And as Sheep, Wool, Woollen or Bay Yarn, are prohibited to be exported from the Isle of Man elsewhere than to Great Britain, any subsequent improper Proceeding relative thereto, is already provided for by Law.
We shall close this general Division of our Report with the following Remarks:
The Suggestions which we have proposed, touching the Subject of the Revenue of the Customs in the Isle of Man, are to be regarded merely as an Attempt to lay the Foundation of a better System in respect thereof than has hitherto existed; and which it will require much future Care, Attention, and Experience, to mature and perfect.
The Alterations, we have thought ourselves warranted to recommend for the Relief or Benefit of the Inhabitants, are tendered as Matter of an experimental, or temporary, rather than fixed and determinate Nature.
[66] The Effects of any Alterations adopted will demand to be watched with uniform Circumspection, in order that if upon Trial the Indulgencies given or Restrictions taken off are found, either not to be productive of the Good intended, or capable of being rendered more salutary, or not exempt from Mischief unforeseen or imperfectly provided against, suitable Interference and Regulations on the Part of Great Britain may be applied.
Under a System of Privilege and Coercion relative to the Isle of Man, guarded, modified, contracted, or extended upon these Principles, the Revenue of Great Britain or Ireland cannot be exposed to durable Injury: And the Isle of Man may, from Time to Time, receive all the Protection and Encouragement which can in Wisdom or Expediency be granted.
[Many thanks to Ken Ken Gumbley for providing scanned text of this section]
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Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received
The Editor |
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