prejudicial to trade, both as it will probably diminish the consumption of the commodity to be excised, and subject the fair trader to the frequent and arbitrary visitation of officers, and the judicial determination of commissioners, removable at pleasure, and from whom, therefore, can be no appeal.

"That the extension of such laws must necessarily encrease the number and power of officers, which will be inconsistent with those principles of liberty on which our happy constitution is founded; and will farther deprive the subjects of England of some of those valuable privileges, which have hitherto distinguished them from the neighbouring nations.

"Wherefore, this court doth earnestly recommend it to you, their representatives, to use your utmost diligence in opposing a scheme of this nature, should any such be offered in parliament, in any shape, or however limited in its first appearance; being fully convinced that an inland duty upon goods now rated at the Custom House, cannot be effectually collected, even with the extension of the powers, or the severest exercise of all the rigours of the present laws of excise."

The house was exceedingly full on the 14th of March; each party appeared anxious for the contest, when Sir Robert opened his plan in a very long and elaborate speech, and then proposed to join the laws of excise to those of the customs: that the farther subsidy of three farthings per pound charged upon imported tobacco, should be still levied as formerly at the Custom House, and payable to his majesty's civil list that then the tobacco should be lodged in warehouses to be appointed for that purpose by the commissioners of excise: that the commissioners of each warehouse, appointed likewise by the commissioners, should have one lock and key, and the merchant-importer another: and that the tobacco should be thus secured until the merchant found a vent for it, either by exportation or home consumption: that the part designed for exportation should be weighed at the Custom House, discharged of the three farthings

farthings per pound at its first importation, and then exported without farther trouble: that the portion destined for home consumption should, in the presence of the warehousekeeper, be delivered to the purchaser, upon his paying the inland duty of four pence per pound to a proper officer appointed to receive it; by which means the merchant would be eased of the inconveniences of paying the duty on importation, or of granting bonds, and finding security for the payment before he had found a market for the commodity that all penalties and forfeitures, so far as they formerly belonged to the crown, should for the future be applied to the use of the public: that appeals in this, as well as in all other cases relating to the excise, should be heard and determined by two or three of the judges, to be named by his majesty; and in the country, by the judge of excise upon the next circuit, who should hear and determine such appeals in the most summary manner, without the formality of proceedings in any of the courts of law or equity. Such was the substance of the infamous Excise Scheme. Sir John Barnard and Mr. alderman Perry, members for London, first attacked Sir Robert, in opposition; and were strongly supported by Mr. Heathcote, Mr. Pulteney, Sir William Wyndham, and other strenuous assertors of the liberties of England.

On the day of the expected motion, a numerous assembly of the most respectable inhabitants and citizens repaired to the avenues of the House of Commons, to wait the result of Sir Robert Walpole's motion; and in the course of the debate, he made a long harangue on the great number of people that beset the house; in which he made use of several expressions reflecting on the conduct of the citizens; and concluded thus: "Gentlemen may say what they please of the multitude now at our door, and in all the avenues leading to this house; they may call them a modest multitude if they will; but whatever temper they were in when they came hither, it may be very much altered now, after having waited so long at our door; it may be a very easy matter for some designing seditious person to raise a tumult and disorder

among

among them; and when tumults are once begun, no man knows where they may end; he is a greater man than any I know in the nation, that could with the same ease appease them: for this reason I must think, that it was neither prudent nor regular to use any methods for bringing such multitudes to this place, under any pretence whatever. Gentlemen may give them what name they please; it may be said, that they came hither as humble supplicants; but I know whom the law calls STURDY BEGGARS, and those who brought them hither could not be certain, but that they might have behaved in the same manner."

This insulting peroration created the greatest disgust; at length, the house being called to order, Sir John Barnard thus addressed his answer to Sir Robert's sarcasms: "Sir, I know of no irregular or unfair methods that were used to call people from the city to your door; it is certain, that any set of gentlemen or merchants may lawfully desire their friends, they may even write letters, and they may send those letters by whom they please, to desire the merchants of figure and character to come down to the court of requests, and to our lobby, in order to solicit their friends. and acquaintances against any scheme or projeet which they think may be prejudicial to them. This, Sir, is the undoubted right of the subject, and what has been always practised upon all occasions. The honourable gentleman talks of STURDY BEGGARS; I do not know what sort of ple may be now at our door, because I have not been lately out of the house, but I believe they are the same sort of people that were there when I came last into the house; and then, Sir, I can assure you, that I saw none but such as deserve the name of STURDY BEGGARS as little as the honourable gentleman himself, or any gentleman whatever. It is well known, that the city of London was sufficiently apprised of what we were this day to be about; where they got their information, I do not know; but I am very certain, that they had a very right notion of the scheme which has been now opened to us, and they were so generally and zealously bent against it, that whatever methods may have

peo

been

been used to call them hither, I am sure it would have been impossible to have found any legal methods to have prevented their coming hither."

However, on Sir Robert's motion, the house divided: for the excise, two hundred and sixty-six; against it, two hundred and five. Majority for the motion sixty-one.

Such success did not discourage the opposers of this pernicious scheme; when the report thereof was made to the house on the sixteenth of March, Sir John Barnard, in a most elaborate speech, particularly pointed out the arbitrary conduct of the excise officers, and the farther prejudices that must in consequence arise from an increase of them. And concluded thus: "These are the fellows who, by this fine scheme are to be put into every man's house that is a dealer in either of the two commodities of tobacco or wine: these are the Lord-Danes who are to be, by law, appointed to lord it over every such dealer and his whole family. We know what was the fate of the Lord-Danes we had formerly in England, and I shall be very little surprized if these new ones meet with the same fate. In short, gentlemen may dress up the scheme in what shape they please; but to one who considers it coolly and impartially, as I have done, it must appear in its true colours. I am convinced that it will produce nothing but the most mischievous consequences, not only to those who are to be immediately affected by it, but likewise to the liberties and properties of the nation in general."

Many other members spoke with great solidity of argument against the motion; but so powerful was ministerial. influence, that, on a division, it was carried in the affirmative, and a bill was ordered to be brought in, when every method was taken to expedite it, and every art practised to prevent the contents being publicly known: when, also, a motion was made for printing a sufficient number of copies for the use of the members, as is usual, it passed in the negative, 128 against 112.

These illegal proceedings so irritated the citizens, that Mr. Barber, the lord mayor, summoned a court of common

council

council to deliberate on the most effectual measures to prevent passing such an obnoxious bill; a copy of which his lordship had with great difficulty obtained. He addressed himself to the whole body in the following speech:

"Gentlemen,

"There is a bill depending in the House of Commons (a copy of which I have procured) for laying an inland duty on tobacco; which duty, it is universally agreed, will prove extremely detrimental to the trade and commerce of this great city, as well as to that of the whole nation. And as the high station I have the honour to be in obliges me to be watchful over every thing that may affect the interest of my fellow-citizens, I should think myself wanting in my duty, if I neglected to call you together on this extraordinary occasion, that you might have an opportunity to deliberate on an affair of so much importance, wherein our liberty and property are so much concerned."

It was then resolved, that a petition should be immedi átely drawn up, and ordered to be presented to the house. In this petition the citizens of London, after delivering their sentiments on the bill depending, and expressing the apprehensions they conceived of its bad effects, conclude thus: "Therefore your petitioners most humbly pray, that this honourable house will be pleased to hear them by their counsel against the said bill.”*

The petition having been brought up, and read at the table, Sir John Barnard explained "how much the city and citizens of London, as well as all the other trading part of the nation, would be affected by the bill for altering the method of raising the duties payable upon tobacco, and what

The citizens of London have always enjoyed one privilege superior to any other body whatever; which is, that any petition from them is presented to the house by their sheriffs, and is brought up by the clerk of the house, and read at the table, without asking leave of the house for that purpose; when all other petitions must be presented by a meinber, and cannot be by him brought up, or read at the table by the clerk, till leave be first asked and granted.

VOL. I. No. 16.

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