- ™ % J.' r ' MilrWrmj I • p r^ fi; - 7* ' w • - praciiai jfc ^ datjjj - syo. •.•• y ol ill. ift: - _ > o J A • : V- IQ . TtJ rsrt rrp Ui*. > 31 no ! Xii ' j tD- Ll;.^ ' ^ Ofc T , InflttjP • • 8 DiJlUlcries.] ON FEES, GRATUITIES, & c. * 9 13. Appendix, NOS. 12, 14. Distiller is entitled to Permits, and the Account be so kept as that Permits to a greater Extent might not be granted. In order to remove ail Pretence for any pecuniary Intercourse between the Trader and the Officer, we recommend that the Fees now payable for n TTT i •> 40 111. c. 68 i ermits be no longer sanctioned. It has been stated to us, that, notwithstanding the Injury which the Appendix, No. Revenue has sustained, the Distiller eventually profited but little by this Traffic in private Spirits; for, besides the Risk of Seizure and Penalties, a Deficiency of Produce, and a considerable Waste of all Kinds of Materials, was attendant on the Hurry and Confusion with which the whole Process was necessarily carried on 3 and in the End he was obliged to sell his private Spirits frequently at Two Shillings under the Market Price of permitted Spirits, and could not legally recover their Value from a Purchaser. It should seem, therefore, to be the Interest both of the Distiller and the Public, that all Evasions of the Duty should be prevented. But as the Subject has often been in much abler Hands, and this desirable Object is still unattained, we cannot but be diffident of whatever we may venture to suggest. In our Search for Information, we have not failed to direct our Attention to the different Systems established for the Regulation of Distilleries both in England and Scotland. In England, the Duty is laid on the Wash alone; and in- order to prevent Evasion it is required that the Still be charged in the Presence of the Officer, and then locked down and sealed by him, and not opened until the Officer's next Attendance to see it re- charged. The Stills in England are much larger than those used in Ireland ; and the Dis- tilleris chargeable in the Winter Half- year, with only Twenty Still Charges of Wash for every Four Weeks, and in the Summer Half- year, with only sixteen. Where the Stills are large, and the Number of Charges few, the Process is carried on slowly, and little Inconvenience results to the Distiller, from being obliged to charge his Still in the Presence of the Officer. The System prevailing in Scotland ( we speak only of the Lowlands, where the principal Distilleries are situate) is directly the Reverse; there every Thing tends to Rapidity of Work, and the Distiller, making Spirits for Home Con- sumption, is not confined either in the Shape or Use of his Still; he pays a Licence Duty of jT. 13. IOJ\ per Month for every Gallon of Still, Five- 46 G. III. c. 103. pence per Gallon on Wash, and One Shilling per Gallon on Spirits. He is required, monthly, to make a Return upon Oath of the Quantity of Worts or Wash distilled, the Quantity of Spirits made, and the Number of Times the Still has been charged within the Month. The Stills generally used there are of a very small Size, but of such Con- struction as to be capable of working with almost incredible Rapidity; and we have seen in a Lowland Distillery Stock Book Sixteen Thousand and Thirty Gallons of Spirits, One to Ten over Proof, charged as the Month's Producc of Two Stills, the One of 48 , Gallons, the other 46 1. Gallons, in ail 95 Gallons; and paying a Duty for the Month as follows: 95 Gallons Still Entry, atyf. 13. 10. per Gall, permonth,/". 1,282 10 o 104,965 Gallons of Wash, at per Gall. - - 2,186 15 5 16,030 Gallons of Spirits, at is. per Gall. - - 801 10 o Britidi A « a, 20 G. III. c. 73. Appendix No. l8. Britifh Aft, 26 G. III. c. 73. £• 4-, 27° JS 5 From