[From Manx Soc Vol 12]

NOTE TO APPENDIX I

AS TO THE INSULAR REVENUE.

In Appendix No. 1 to the Notes on the Chronicle,⁽¹⁾ reference is made to the surplus Customs’ revenue of the Island. It may be convenient here to refer to the various sources of Insular revenue, now or hereto-fore payable, the Acts or Authority under which it has been or is raised, and the relative positions of the Crown and inhabitants of the Island with respect to surplus revenue.

I—The several branches of the Crown revenue, and of revenue now raised by authority of Parliament, may be arranged under the following heads

1.Customs,

2. Land,

3, Fine Fund,

4.Post Office,

5.Harbours,

6.Lighthouses.

1.—CUSTOMS’ REVENUE.

Previous to 1767 the duties of Customs on goods imported into and exported from the Island was levied by authority of the Insular Legislature.

The payment of duties was recognised by orders made by Commissioners of Edward Earl of Derby, the sixth Lord of the House of Stanley, on the 18th July, 1561,—(Mills’ Statutes, 41,)—in these words:

(A.D. 1561.)—That the clerk of the shipps do make a perfect book of all such wares as the merchant stranger shall bring into the country, and how and to whom the said wares are distributed, and what wares he shall carry out of Mann, and how much customs is due for the same, &c.

A.D. 1577.—The " Customs" legally payable in 1561 were probably those set forth in " The rates of the Customs at every port within the Isle of Mann, allowed and confirmed by the Right Honourable Henry, Earl of Derby, Lord of the said Isle," on the 28th June, 1577. (Mills’Mills’ Statutes, 43.) The rates so allowed may have been set forth and declared by authority as the rates at that time legally payable, and may not have been then enacted for the first time. Most of the written laws at that time were not new enactments, but merely declarations of the law made by the local authorities, such as the Deemsters, or the Deemsters and Keys, committed to writing tõ prevent uncertainty for the future. But whether made for the first time or not in 1577, the rates were not made by the sole authority of the Lord ;—being made, they were " allowed and confirmed" by him. That this is the correct view is apparent from the fact that the Deemsters and Keys were, on the 21st June, 1669, required to deliver their opinion to whom a fee of one penny for " the entering of every boat, bark, or pickard," as mentioned in the rates, was payable. They gave as their opinion that it was payable to the " Captain’s clerk," and consequently not to the Lord. Unless the rates had been made by lawful authority, no opinion would have been asked or given.

A.D. 1594.—On the 24th June, 1594, in Tynwald, amongst answers given by ‘the Deemsters and Keys to Governor Randulph Stanley, to various " articles and questions of doubt," the right of the Governor (or. Captain as he is called,) in Council, to restrict the exportation of " stuff or merchandize,"—the " wares" to be exported being specified in a licence of the Governor or his deputy, and being those " which may best be spared for the best commodities of the inhabitants of the said Isle," is declared. (Mills’ Statutes, 66.)

A.D. 1637.—By Act of Tynwald, 24th June, 1637, it was enacted, in consequence of " the complaint of the commons and poor sort of inhabitants, that they are much impoverished by having come and graine, cattle and other provisions, exported out of the Island, without consideration what may be necessary to be reserved for the sustentation of the inhabitants of that Island," that no goods should be exported without the licence of the Lord, or his lieutenant or captain, or his deputy. (Mills’ Statutes, 93.)

A.D. 1645.—By Act of Tynwald, 24th June, 1645, a further enactment as to the exportation of goods was made " for the full declaration of the meaning" of Statutes concerning " transportation of corn, cattle, and other commodities, which do not absolutely aggree one with another," and " the true use thereof." By this Act the Governor and Council are to consult weekly when goods may be exported by licence of the Governor or his deputy. And it is provided that on complaint made by the " country for restraint of such commodities, or of too much lycence given thereof," the Governor shall assemble the Tynwald " to consider of and determine what is or may be most fitt to be transported, always considering the general good and safety of the Island." (Mills’ Statutes, 110.) Probably the disagreement of Statutes mentioned, refers to an apparent difference between the two Laws of 1594 and 1637. By the former the restraint on exportation was to be exercised by the Governor in Council, and from the latter it might be inferred that the Lord or the Governor might act without the advice of the Council.

These various declarations and enactments fully recognize the right of the Tynwald, to legislate as to the duties of Customs. If the Lord by his own power could have levied duties, there was no necessity for action on the part of the Legislature, and the Lord would not have submitted to it ; and moreover the restraints on exportation really affected and limited the duties payable to the Lord. It may be said that the Lord might have had power to impose the duties, and yet not to restrain exportation ; but had he possessed the power of imposing duties, and yet had considered it necessary for the good of the Island that exportation should be limited, he most probably would have checked exportation by means of high duties rather than have given countenance to any recognition of a right of interference on the part of the Tynwald.

A.D. 1692.—On the 4th July, 1692, the Governor and Council violated the law by making a new Book of rates without the consent of the Keys. This book of rates which was confirmed by the Lord is given at length in the Report of the Commissioners of 1791. (Appendix A. No. 3.) Thie was probably one of the cases alluded to by the Commissioners, (Report, p. 67.) " in which the commands of the Lord Proprietor have been obtruded as laws on the people." This book of rates appears to have been submitted to until the year 1737. The reasons for such submission were thus forcibly expressed by Mr Curwen, in his speech in the House of Commons in 1805, (p. 49.)—" These, Sir, were days of calamity to the Isle of Man ; they had other and more important subjects of dispute with their Lord. He had pressed forward claims to all their lands. The Island was then deeply depressed in poverty, and .it would have been imprudent to irritate the Lord Proprietor on a subject of comparatively, and at the moment, little importance to them. These duties were of trivial amount ; paid by strangers ; and it was not then foreseen how much, and by what means that amount was afterward to be augmented. Even in 1706, it appears, Sir, by an Act of Tynwald, stated by the Committee, that ‘ the poverty and mean circumstances of the people’ had prevented the payment of the Lord’s fines ; and that to raise on the Island an assessment of so small a sum as £160 a delay of three years was necessarily given. Where then could the Keys have looked for the resources to enter into new contests with this powerful Lord Proprietor ? They might be silent ; but ‘ it was their poverty not their will’ consented."

AD. 1711.—On the 5th November, 1711, was promulgated " An Act for preventing frauds in Her Majesty’s Customes by the exportation of forreigne goods from this Island." English officers of Customs, acting in the name of Queen Anne, had been sent to the Island, most probably to watch and report on the exportation of goods from the Island, they having no authority to exercise their official duties in the Island, or to control the exportation of goods there. On their complaint of certain articles of merchandize, entitled in England to drawback, shipped from thence, and afterwards carried from the Island privately into Great Britain or Ireland, and of foreign goods exported from the Island and privately landed in Great Britain or Ireland, the Tynwald by this Act restrained or controlled, under heavy penalties, the exportation of goods from the Island, so as to ensure the payment of the British or Irish duties if landed in Great Britain or Ireland, and to prevent the landing there of goods shipped for foreign countries, and certain powers as to search and otherwise were conferred on the English officers. (Mills’ Statutes, 195.)

AD. 1714.—The last-mentioned Act was passed in the expectation that the British Parliament would permit the inhabitants to import into Great Britain, beasts and goods of the growth, produce, or manufacture of the Island free of duty, according to proposals submitted by a Committee of the Tynwald Court to the Commissioners of Customs in England, agreed to by them, and laid before the Lords of the Treasury; but the expectation not having been realized, the Tynwald by an Act promulgated on the 27th May, 1714, suspended the operation of the Act for one year, and from year to year afterwards until the inhabitants of the Island obtained the freedom of trade sought. (Mills’ Statutes, 208.)

A.D. 1726.—By Act promulgated 18th November, 1726, the exportation of salt from the Island was prohibited. (Mills’ Statutes, 212.)

A.D. 1737.—By the Act of Tynwald promulgated the 24th June, 1737, styled sometimes the Magna Charta of the Isle of Man, sec. 14, the Book of rates illegally made by the Governor and Council and allowed by the Lord in 1692, was with some exceptions and variations confirmed, prohibitions with respect to the importation of malt and grain were enacted, and the exportation of goods, otherwise not prohibited, was leclared to be free unless prohibited by the Tynwald Court, "according to the rules prescribed by the Statute made in the year of our Lord 1645, in that behalf, or as they shall see most necessary for the publick good of the said Isle, any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding." (Mills’ Statutes, 246.)

This Act of 1737 was a complete acknowledgment on the part of the Lord of the illegality of levying taxes without the consent of the Keys, as well as of the Governor and Council, and more especially as the Act was in reality a Bill of Rights alleging and redressing grievances of various kinds which affected " the liberties and properties" of the people, one of such grievances being that " the present book of rates for the payment of dutys upon goods and merchandizes exported from and imported into this Isle hath not hitherto had the consent and concurrence of the twenty-four Keys."

AD. 1748.—The last Act of the Legislature of the Island relating to the Customs was one promulgated on the 24th June, 1748, for laying " an additional duty upon English and Irish ale, and to repeal the Statute prohibiting the importation of malt." By this Act duties are imposed on ale, malt, apples, and pears imported into the Island. (Mills’ Statutes, 286.)

As previously mentioned,(l) the whole revenue of the Island, (except that levied for special purposes, such as for harbours and highways,) after defraying the expenses of the Government, belonged to the Lord. But it is not likely that the Legislature would have consented to any increase of Customs duties which would have materially increased the personal benefit derived by the Lord therefrom, without securing some equivalent ; and the Legislature had the right to direct the application of the revenue raised by its authority.

AD. 1767.—The first Act passed by the English Parliament for levying Customs duties was the Act, 7 Geo. III. c. 45, (1767)—" An Act for encouraging and regulating the trade and manufactures of the Isle of Man ; and for the more easy supply of the inhabitants there with a certain quantity of wheat, barley, oats, meal, and flower, authorized by an Act made in this session to be transported to the said Island." In the preamble it is alleged that " it is expedient that provision be made for encouraging, improving, and regulating the trade and manufactures of the said Island and the fisheries on the coasts thereof." By sec. 1 it is enacted that from the 5th July, 1767, the duties payable to His Majesty in the Island on all goods imported there or exported from thence shall cease, and that other specified duties on goods imported into the Island should be paid. The duties repealed were those payable under the Insular laws. By sec. 2 the duties payable were to be revised under the authority and direction of the Commissioners of the Treasury, or of the Lord High Treasurer, and the application of them is directed in the following words :— And (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, levying, recovering, answering, paying, and accounting for the same,) the said rates and duties shall from time to time be brought and paid into the receipt of His Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the publick revenue, and such part thereof as shall remain after the necessary expenses attending the government of the said Isle of Man and the administration of justice there are from time to time defrayed, shall be reserved for the disposition of Parliament.

A.D. 1780.—By Act 20 Geo. III. c. 42, (1780.)—" An Act for granting to His Majesty several additional duties upon certain goods imported into the Isle of Man, and for better regulating the trade, and securing the revenues of the said Island,"—new duties, to take effect from the 5th July, 1780, were directed to be paid " for further provision towards defraying the expenses of government of the Isle of Man, and better raising and securing a revenue for that purpose." Sec. 3 directs the application of the duties to be raised in words similar to those in the Act 7 Geo. III. c. 45, namely:— And (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, levying, recovering, answering, paying, and accounting for the same,) the said rates and duties shall from time to time be brought and paid into the receipt of His Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the public revenue, and such part thereof as shall remain after the necessary expenses attending the government of the said Isle of Man and the administration of justice there are from time to time defrayed, shall be reserved for the disposition of Parliament.

A.D. 1798.—By Act 38 Geo. III. c. 63, (21 June, 1798,)—" An Act for the further encouragement of the trade and manufactures of the Isle of Man ; for improving the revenue thereof ; and for the more effectual prevention of smuggling to and from the said Island ;"—after stating that a report had been made in consequence of a Commission from His Majesty, for the purpose of obtaining information upon Ýarious points respecting the Isle of Man, which report had by His Majesty’s command, been laid before the House of Commons, and that it was expedient that until Parliament could take the said report under their consideration, some temporary encouragement and relief should be granted to the trade and manufactures of the Island, as well as some further regulations made for the more effectual prevention of smuggling to and from the Island,—various alterations were made in the duties of Customs to take effect from the 5th July, 1798. No special enactment was made as to the application of the duties,—the clause in the Act of 1780 being unrepealed. The Act was to continue in force until the 5th July, 1801, but by various subsequent Acts, it was with some amendments continued until the 5th July, 1805.

AD. 1805.—By Act 45 Geo. III. c. 99, (10th July, 1805,)—" An Act for regulating and encouraging the trade, for the improvement of the revenue, and prevention of smuggling to and from the Isle of Man,"— the duties granted by previous Acts were consolidated. By sec. 3 the duties are to be raised under the authority and direction of the Commissioners of Customs in England ; and the application of the revenue is directed by the following words:— And (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, levying, recovering, answering, paying, and accounting for the same,) the said rates and duties shall from time to time be brought and paid into the receipt of His Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the publick revenue, and such part thereof as shall remain after the necessary expenses attending the government of the said Isle of Man, and the administration of justice there, are from time to time defrayed, and the payment of bounties or charges from time to time payable thereout, shall go to and make part of the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain.

The latter portion of the foregoing quotation may be considered as the first appropriation of the surplus of the Customs revenue by the Parliament ; for whether intended as an absolute appropriation or not, such has been the effect of the words " shall go to and make part of the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain." By the former Acts the surplus was " reserved for the disposition of Parliament," and it is thus shown that for a period of 40 years, from 1765 to 1805, Parliament hesitated to appropriate for Imperial purposes, revenue not intended for those purposes by the Acts under which the duties were levied. It was not without reason that the Manx people considered " the surplus revenue set apart by Parliament undoubtedly fcr their use." (Mr. Curwen’s Speech in House of Commons, 1805.) Notwithstanding, however, the absorption of the surplus in the Consolidated Fund under the Act of 1805, such absorption was not considered as an annihilation by Parliament of the claims of the Manx people, who not unnaturally looked upon the direction for the account of the Manx revenue to be kept distinctly and apart from all other branches of the public revenue, as some recognition of, their claims.

A.D. 1810.—By Act 50 Geo. III, c. 42, (2nd June, 1810,)—" An Act for consolidating the duties of Customs for the Isle of Man, and for placing the same under the management of the Commissioners of Customs in England,"—an duties theretofore payable were to cease on the 5th July, 1810, and the duties set forth in the schedule to the Act to be paid. The appropriation of the revenue is directed by see. 9 :— That all sums of money received under the authority of this Act shall be remitted to the Receiver-General and Cashier of the Customs in England, agreeably to such directions as may from time to time be given for that purpose by the said Commissioners of the Customs in England, to be paid into the receipt of His Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the public revenue ; and such part thereof as shall remain after the necessary expenses attending the government of the said Isle of Man, and the administration of justice there, and all other charges, are from time to time defrayed, shall go to and make part of the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain.

A.D, 1811.—As great inconvenience and delay attended the mode of obtaining, under the last mentioned Act, the requisite sums of money for defraying the expenses and charges in the Island, the Act 51 Geo. III, c. 52, (31st May, 1811,)—" An Act for explaining and amending an Act passed in the last session of Parliament, for consolidating the duties of Customs for the Isle of Man, and for placing the same under the management of the Commissioners of Customs in England ,"—was passed ; and by sec. 1 the following provision as to payments in the Island was made

That any of the collectors of the Customs in the Isle of Man appointed to receive the duties imposed by the said recited Act shall, and he and they is and are hereby author-ized and required, agreeably to such directions as shall from time to time be given for that purpose by the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England, or any four or more of them, to retain such sum or sums of money in his or their hands as may be sufficient to defray the necessary expenses attending the government of the said Isle of Man, and the administration of justice there, and other charges incurred in the said Isle, which may have heretofore been or may hereafter be deemed fit and proper charges to be deducted from and paid out of the duties of Customs collected in the said Isle of Man, and also for the purpose of defraying any bounties that may be due by law upon herrings caught by the inhabitants of the said Isle of Man, and upon the amount of the said expenses, charges and bounties being ascertained, the said Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England, or any four or more of them, are hereby authorized to direct the same to be paid out of the said monies so retained to such person or persons as may be entitled to receive the same ; and the residue of the said monies arising from duties of Customs in the hands of the said collectors, after paying such expenses, charges and bounties, shall be remitted to the Receiver-General of the Customs in England, to be paid into the receipt of His Majesty’s Exchequer for the purpose of being carried to the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain ; anything in the said recited Act of the fiftieth year of the reign of His said Majesty, or any other Act or Acts to the contrary notwithstanding.

AD. 1825.—By Act 6 Geo. IV, c. 105, all previous Acts relating to the Customs of the Isle of Man were repealed ; and by Act 6 Geo. IV, C. 115, (5th July, 1825,)—" An Act for regulating the trade of the Isle of Man,"—the laws relating to the Customs of the Island were consolidated, and a new Table of Duties was enacted, to take effect on the 5th January, 1826. Sec. 15 directs the application of the revenue:— That the duties of Customs shall be raised, levied, collected, paid, recovered, and accounted for under the authority and direction, or under the management and controul of the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs, and, except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, levying, recovering, and accounting for the same, the said rates and duties shall from time to time, (subject to the deductions hereinafter mentioned,) be brought and paid into the receipt of His Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the public revenue, and shall go to and make part of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland : Provided always, that any of the Collectors of Customs of the said Isle shall, and he and they is and are hereby authorized and required, agreeably to such directions as shall from time to time be given for that purpose by the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs, to retain such sum or sums of money in his or their hands as may be sufficient to defray the necessary expenses attending the government of the said Isle of Man, and the administration of justice there, and other charges incurred in the said Isle, which have heretofore been or may hereafter be deemed fit and proper charges to be deducted from and paid out of the duties of Customs collected in the Isle of Man, and also for the purpose of defraying any bounties that may be due by law upon herrings caught by the inhabitants of the said Isle ofMan, and upon the amount of the said expenses, charges, and bounties being ascertained, the said Commissioners are hereby autborised to direct the same to be paid out of the said monies so retained, to such person or persons as may be entitled to receive the same,

A.D. 1833.—A fresh consolidation of the laws relating to the Customs of the Island was effected by Act 3 and 4 William IV, c. 60, (28th August, 1833,)—" An Act for regulating the trade of the Isle of Man," — which prescribed a new Table of Duties to commence on the 1st September, 1833. The application of the revenue is directed by sec. 16, in the same words as sec. 15 of the Act 6 Geo. IV, c. 115, omitting only the words :—" And also for the purpose of defraying any bounties that may be due by law upon herrings caught by the inhabitants of the said Isle of Man,"—and also the word " bounties" in a subsequent part of the clause.

A.D. 1844.—By Act 7 and 8 Vict., c. 43, (19th July, 1844,)—" An Act to amend the laws relating to the Customs of the Isle of Man,"—new Customs duties were enacted. It was estimated that by the new duties there would be raised a larger amount of revenue than by those previously in force, and it not being the object of Parliament to increase the surplus revenue, and in order to give the Island the benefit of any additional revenue, the duties and rates theretofore payable in respect of ships and goods arriving at and imported into the Island for the maintenance of harbours were, by sec. 19, repealed ; and by sec. 20 the sum of £2,300 yearly was directed to be paid out of the Customs revenue for harbour purposes. Sec. 18 contains a direction as to the application of the revenue, like that contained in sec. 16 of the Act 3 and 4 William IV, c. 60.

A.D. 1845.—A further consolidation of the Customs laws of the Island was effected by Act 8 and 9 Vict. c. 94, (4th August, 1845,)— " An Act for regulating the trade of the Isle of Man,"—the duties being re-enacted. Like provisions as to the application of the revenue and the support of the harbours to those contained in 7 and 8 Vict., c. 43, are contained in sees. 24 and 25.

AD. 1853.—By " The Customs Tariff Act, 1853," (16 and 17 Vict., c. 106,—20th August, 1853,") new duties for the Island were enacted; and by " The Customs Consolidation Act, 1853," (16 and 17 Vict., c. 107, —20th August, 1853,) sees. 353 and 354, the application of the revenua is thus directed:— 853.—The duties of Customs payable on the importation of goods into the Isle of Man shall be collected, paid, recovered, and accounted for under the management and control of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Customs ; and, except the necessary charges of collecting, recovering, and accounting for the same, the said duties shall from time to time (subject to the deductions hereinafter mentioned) be brought and paid into the receipt of Her Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the public revenue, and shall go to and make part of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland : Provided always, that any of the Collectors of Customs of the said Isle shall retain, and he and they is and are hereby authorized and required agreeably to such directions as shall from time to time be given for that purpose by the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Customs, to retain such sum or sums of money in his or their hands, as may be sufficient to defray the necessary expenses attending the government of the said Isle of Man, and the administration of justice there, and other charges incurred in the said Isle, which have heretofore been or may hereafter be deemed fit and proper charges to deducted from and paid out of the duties of Customs collected in the said Isle of Man; and upon the amount of the said expenses and charges being ascertained, the said Commissioners are hereby authorized to direct the same to be paid out of the said monies so retained, to such person or persons as may be entitled to receive the same.

1864. The necessary expenses attending the government of the Isle of Man and the administration of justice there, and qther charges incurred in the said Isle, which have heretofore been deemed fit and proper charges to be deducted from and paid out of the duties of Customs collected in the said Isle, or which may hereafter be deemed proper charges, and also the annual sum of Two thousand three hundred pounds, made payable by an Act passed in the eighth and ninth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter ninety-four, section twenty-five, to Her Majesty’s Receiver-General in the said Isle of Man, and to be applied for the lawful purposes of the Harbour Commissioners therein mentioned, shall and may be retained and paid by the Collector of Customs of the said Isle, out of the duties of Customs collected in the said Isle, as hereinbefore provided.

In order that the Island might have the benefit of the estimated increase of Revenue under the new duties, the following provision was made by sec. 355 :— In addition to the deductions from the Customs duties hereinbefore provided for, there shall be set aside annually a sum equal to one-ninth part of the amount derived from such duties, to be applied by the Commissioners of the Treasury in effecting improvements in the harbours and other public works in the Isle of Man, the necessary repairs and improvements in the harbours taking priority to other public works ; and it shall be lawful for the Court of Tynwald from time to time to determine what improvements and public works shall be so undertaken, the Lieutenant-Governor having a veto upon such decision.

Leaving the matter of the right to the surplus revenue from 1765 to 1844 an open question, the Parliament, by the Acts of 1844 and 1853, fully recognized the principle that the inhabitants of the Island were entitled to the benefit of any additional surplus created by an increase of duties. On each occasion this principle was contended for by the Insular Government, the House of Keys, and inhabitants, in the communications with the Imperial Government ; but at the same time, the claim of the inhabitants to the whole surplus was not abandoned,

AD. 1854.—By Act 16 and 17 Vict., c. 107, (10th August, 1854,)—" An Act to alter the mode of providing for certain expenses now charged upon certain branches of the public revenue and upon the Consolidated Fund,"—it was enacted by sec. 1 :— From and after the first day of April, 1854, the several charges and payments described in schedules (A) and (B) to this Act, and which, under the acts and authorities in the same schedules respectively referred o, are charged on or made payable out of the several branches of the public revenue in such schedules mentioned, or on or out of the monies in the bands of Commissioners or Collectors or other Receivers of such revenues or otherwise now charged on or payable out of all or any parts of such revenue respectively, or on or out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom shall cease to be so charged and payable ; and such of the said charges and payments as are described in the said schedule (A) shall be charged on and payable out of the said Consolidated Fund: and such of the said charges and payments as are described in the said schedule (B) shall be paid out of such aids or supplies as may be from time to time provided and appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, &c.

Schedule (A) contains amongst other charges the following’:— Charges upon the Customs revenues of the Isle of Man, under the Act 16 & 17 Vict.

sap. 107w

The effect of this provision was, the payment of the whole Customs revenue, except the expenses of collection and the one-ninth for public purposes, into the Consolidated Fund ; and to make the expenses of the government, and of the administration of justice, and the annual sum of £2,300 for the Harbours, chargeable on that Fund instead of on the revenue. Any other " fit and proper charges," previously paid out of the Customs revenue, would have to be voted by Parliament, instead of the payment being directed by the Treasury as had been the case theretofore.

A.D. 1864.—By " The Isle of Man Harbours Amendment Act, 1864," (27 and 28 Vict., c. 62,—25th July, 1864,) sec. 2, it was enacted, that any deficiency in the dues authorized by a previous Act to be levied at Port Erin for payment of a Loan to be made by the Public Works Loan Commissioners, to an extent not exceeding £1,600 yearly, shall be charged and paid out of the surplus Customs revenue of the Island, if there should be " any surplus applicable thereto, after providing for all existing charges upon such revenue, and before any charges of a new and distinct character are imposed thereon" ; all advances so to be made out of the surplus revenue, with interest at 3½ per cent., to be repaid when the Harbour Dues, or other moneys applicable, should be more than sufficient to provide the annual payments in respect of the Harbour.

(Reference has been made to the various Acts of Parliament which had a bearing on the question of the surplus revenue only. No reference has been made to many Acts by which some changes were made in duties, or by which the trade of the Island was affected, or by which previous Acts were repealed or altered.)

A.D. 1866.—The last Act affecting the surplus Customs revenue is the " Isle of Man Customs, Harbours, and Public Purposes Act, 1866," (29 Vict., c. 23,—18th May, 1866.) By this Act the duties on the importation of certain goods were increased, as from the 15th March, 1866, and the application of the revenue is directed by the following sections

3, The Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Customs shall apply the duties of Customs collected in the Isle of Man, (except the necessary charges of collecting, recovering, and accounting for the same, which charges they are hereby authorized and directed to retain and pay out of the gross amount collected, notwithstanding the provisions of the Act of the seventeenth and eighteenth of Victoria, chapter ninety-four,) in manner following ; (that is to say,) they shall thereout pay and defray the necessary expenses attending the government of the Isle of Man, and the administration ofjustice there, and other charges incurred in the Isle, which have heretofore been or may hereafter be deemed fit and proper charges to be deducted from and paid out of the duties of Customs collected in the Isle of Man, including so much (if any) of the services which shall have been voted by the House of Commons applicable to the Isle of Man as the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury shall from time to time direct : Provided that no part of the said duties of Customs shall be applied for or towards any of the Navy services, except the salaries and expenses of the Coast Guard service of the Isle of Man, and that no part of the said duties of Customs shall be applied for or towards any of the Army services, except the charge of the Volunteers of the Isle of Man.

4. Out of the same duties of Customs the said Commissioners shall pay the annual sum of Two thousand three hundred pounds, made payable by the Act eighth and ninth of Victoria, chapter ninety-four, section twenty-five, to Her Majesty’s Receiver-General, in the Isle of Man, and to be applied for the lawful purposes of the Harbour Commissioners therein mentioned.

5. In addition to the payments out of the Customs duties hereinbefore directed, there shall be set aside annually a sum equal to one-ninth part of the gross amount of the duties of Customs collected in the Isle of Man, to be applied by the Commissioners of the Treasury in effecting improvements in the Harbours and other public works in the Isle of Man, the necessary repairs and improvements in the Harbours taking priority to other public works; and it shall be lawful for the Court of Tynwald, from time to time, to determine what improvements and public works shall be so undertaken, the Lieutenant-Governor having a veto upon such decision ; such one-ninth part of the said gross amount of the duties of Customs collected in the Isle of Man, being in satisfaction of and in substitution for the sum equal to one-ninth part of the amount derived from such duties by the Customs Consolidation Act, 1853, section Three hundred and fifty-five, directed to be set apart and applied as therein mentioned.

6. It shall be lawful for the Harbour Commissioners of the Isle of Man, or the major part of them, (of whom her Majesty’s Receiver-General in the Isle of Man or his deputy for the time being shall be one,) from time to time, with the approbation of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, to borrow of or from any Commissioners, body, or person willing to advance the same on the security of two other ninth parts of the gross amount of the duties of Customs collected in the Isle of Man, such sum or sums of money as the Court of Tynwald (with such approbation as aforesaid) may have determined to be necessary for the purpose of effecting improvements in the Harbours of the Isle of Man; and it shall be lawful for the Court of Tynwald, from time to time, to determine what improvements shall be so undertaken, the Lieutenant-Governor having a veto upon such decision ; and it shall be lawful for the said Harbour Commissioners, or such majority of them as aforesaid, by any deed or deeds under their hands and seals, to charge the said two-ninth parts of the said gross amount of the duties of Customs collected in the Isle of Man on the security whereof any such money as aforesaid might be borrowed, with the repayment of the principal money and interest according to the terms agreed on with any Commissioners or other body or person by whom the respective advances may be made; and the Commissioners of her Majesty’s Customs shall, in the event of any such charge being made, pay and apply the said two-ninth parts of the said gross amount, or so much thereof as shall be necessary, in payment of such principal and interest accordingly,

7. Subject to the charges aforesaid, the sum of Ten thousand pounds out of the duties of Customs of the Isle of Man shall be brought and paid into the receipt of Her Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the public revenue, and shall go and make part of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; and in case the Customs duties of the Isle of Man shall notbe sufficient in any year to pay the whole of the said Ten thousand pounds, then the deficiency shall be added to the Ten thousand pounds becoming due in the succeeding year, and be payable with the like priority, and so on from year to year as regards the deficiency, if any, of the preceding year or years : Provided always, and be it enacted by way of substitution for the provisions of the Isle of Man Harbours Amendment Act, 1864, section two, that if there shall be any deficiency in respect of the works in that Act mentioned as proposed to be erected at Port Erin in the Isle of Man by the application of the Loan therein mentioned to meet the claims of the Public Works Loan Commissioners to payment as such claims fall due, then the amount so deficient, to any extent not exceeding One thousand six hundred pounds in any one year, shall be charged and paid, and deducted by the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Customs, out of the said sum of Ten thousand pounds, before the payment thereof into the receipt of Her Majesty’s Exchequer ; and if after the completion of the said .poposed works at Port Erin, it shall be found that the Harbour Dues and other monies received and applicable to the payments to be made to the Public Works Loan Commissioners are more than sufficient to provide for such annual payments as they shall fall due, the balance, after providing for such payments, shall be applied yearly to repay any monies which shall have been advanced out of the surplus of Customs revenues under the authority of the said Isle of Man Harbour Amendment Act, 1864, or which shall have been advanced out of the said annual sum of Ten thousand pounds, under the authority of this Act, with interest thereon respectively at the rate of three and a quarter per centum per annum, from the time of the advance to the time of repayment.

8. The surplus, if any, of the duties of Customs of the Isle of Man, after deducting the sums hereinbefore directed or authorised to be paid or set aside thereout or charged thereon, shall be applied for such public purposes of the Isle of Man, to be approved of by the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, as the Court of Tynwald shall from time to time determine, the Lieutenant-Governor having a veto upon such decision.

9. The clear surplus income (if any) arising from the said duties of Customs in any year which shall not be required for the purposes of that year, shall be invested in such . names and on such securities as the Commissioners of the Treasury shall from time to time direct, and the sums so invested, with the interest and accumulations thereof, shall form a fund to be called " The Isle of Man Accumulated Fund," and such fund, or any part thereof, shall from time to time be applicable for the purposes and in the manner in which the same would have been applicable if it had been surplus income of the year in which it shall be applied.

The mode and order of the application of the Customs revenue under this Act may be thus briefly stated

1. Charges of collection.

2. Expenses attending the Insular Government, the administration ofjustice, and other charges which may be deemed fit and proper to be paid out of the duties of Customs, including the proportion applicable to the Island of moneys voted for services by the House of Commons, but not including Navy service except the expenses of the Coastguard, and not including Army service except the expenses of the Volunteers.

3. £2,300 for the purposes of the Harbour Commissioners.

4. One-ninth of the gross revenue for harbours and other public works under the vote of the Tynwald Court.

5. Two-ninths of the gross revenue to be mortgaged for harbour improvements under the vote of the Tynwald Court.

6. £10,000 to the Consolidated Fund, but subject to the payment of the charge not exceeding £1,600 yearly, created under the Act of 1864 on the Customs revenue for Port Erin harbour, in case the dues to be received there be insufficient to meet the principal and interest of the Loan for such harbour.

7. The surplus revenue for public purposes in the Island under the vote of the Court of Tynwald.

This Act was passed to carry into effect an arrangement agreed to by the Treasury and the Tynwald Court. The question as to the past surplus revenue was not raised in the negotiations, though the right of the inhabitants to the surplus was affirmed as on previous occasions. In some form or other the Island will now have the benefit of the whole Customs revenue, with the exception of £10,000, (or in case of the insufficiency of the dues at Port Erin harbour for the purposes for which they are applicable, £8,400,) which may be considered as the Insular contribution for Imperial protection.

By a Treasury Minute of the 5th July, 1866, full instructions were given as to the management of the revenue for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the Act, and as to the manner in which charges applicable to the Island defrayed by various departments of the Government, namely, the Committee of Council on Education, the Board of Works, the Office of Woods, &c., the Admiralty, and War Office, are to be ascertained, apportioned, and charged against the Customs revenue.

1 Page 148, 149.