47< 5eo. i. rr.£. i8. r. i. 47 Geo. III. c. 5. f. 1. 45 Geo. III. c. 50. 46 Geo. III. c. 64. 47 Geo. III. c. i4- f. 2. 47 Geo. II I. e. 12. f. 2. 48 Geo. III. c. 4i. 45 Geo. III. c. 20. App" N° 37. so ( Irelna d.)— Seventh REPORT Or THE COMMISSIONERS [ Excife. Excife and Stamps refpe& ivelv, of all Licences itfued by them in the month prece ding. By two ACts paffed in the firft Seffion of Parliament in the year 1807, the Stamp Duty on Retail Spirit Licences, and on the feveral'Licences enumerated in an Ad of the 45th year of the King, and in an ACt of the following year, was repealed, and a new Duty on Inch Licences made payable to the Excife, which was thenceforth empowered to grant them ; but in the fecond Seffion of the fame year, the Duty on Licences to retail Spirits was again fubjected to a Stamp Duty, and the power of iffuing them was brought back to the Stamp Office. By an A61 of the laft Seffion, the Duties 011 the feveral Licences enumerated in the Aft of the 45th of the King, were again made payable to the Stamp Office, whilft the power of iffuing them remains with the Commiffioners of Excife. It has been ftated to us, that the transferring the iffue of Spirit Licences from the Excite to the Stamp Office has been followed by an indifference in the Excife Officers to the dete& ion of unlicenied Dealers. For fuch mifconduCt, the transfer of the iffue of the Licence to the Stamp Office forms no reafonable ground of excufc; fince, whenever that courfe has obtained, there does not appear to have been any want of provifion for furnifhing the Commiflioners of Excife with the informa- tion neceflary to enable their Officers to ad with as much effe6t as when the Licences were iffued by the Excife Department. Wherever the Licence authorizes perfons to deal in excifeable commodities, the necef- fity of apprizing the Officers of Excife of the iffue of fuch Licences is obvious, both for the purpofe of enabling them to diftinguilh the un- authorized Dealers, and of directing their attention to the points where vigilance is moft required. The peculiarity of the Collector's fttuation, with refpeCi to the manage- ment of thefe Duties, Ln our opinion fully justifies the transfer of their receipt to the Stamp Office; for, with refpeCt to all other Duties under the management of the Excife, the ColleCtor is but an Officer of check and of receipt; in this inftance he was alio an Officer of charge ; in the former he is checked by the Voucher of the charging Officers, in the latter there was 110 guard againft the luppreffion of his receipts, except the diftant chance of accidental detection; but of the receipt of the Duties by the Stamp Officer, no fuch concealment can take place; he is debited for the Stamps committed to his charge, and muft account for the dilpofal of them. WROUGHT PLATE. IN 1729, a Duty of Sixpence per ounce troy was impofed on all Gold and Silver Plate wrought in Ireland. This Duty was colle& ed by an Affav Mafter appointed by the Goldfmith's Company, to touch all Gold and Silver Wrought Plate before expofed to fale. The Affav Mafter was required, once in every month at leaft, to pay the amount of Duty re- ceived into His Majefty's Exchequer, and once a year, or oftner if required, to return his books and accounts to the Commiffioners of the Revenue. The above Duty of U. per ounce was appropriated to the encouragement