N° 5 J I & 32. j ON F E E S , G R A T U I T I E S , See.—( Auction Duty, & c.) Examinant has found, upon feveral infpeCtions, that the Duty was very loofely per formed by the Officers in charge of Tobacco ManufaCtur& s; that the ftocks were very feldom weighed, and that in very many inftances there were no fcales and weights capable of weighing fuch quantity as the Law prefcribes; to thefe circumrtances he attributes the irregularities fo frequently found in the ftocks of Tobacco Manu- facturers. He is of opinion, that a reduction of the Duties on Tobacco would tend to the prevention of fmuggling. That the manufacturing of Tobacco fhould be confined to cities and large towns and the Licence Duty on the Manufacturers increafed. , W. B. Swan, Fredk Geale, Robert Alexander, Charles Saxton. No. 31. The Examination of Mr. JAMES MOLINEUX taken on Oath, the 2d and 17 th of November 1807. This Examinant faith, That he is a Tobacco and SnufF Manufacturer in the city cf Dublin ; that fince the Isft increafe of Duty on Tobacco, his own trade, and' he believes the trade in general, has decreafed very confiderably ; his fales into the country have fallen off nearly two- thirds. He attributes this reduction to the advance of Duty, and confequent increafe of fmuggling. He conceives that it might be injurious to the Manufacturer, to oblige him to work off his Tobacco in the cane- cafe, without adding any thereto until the whole should be exhausted. He is of opinion, that at a Duty of 12d. per lb. a Revenue nearly equal to the present might be raifed upon Tobacco, and that even fhould the Revenue be less, the suppression of fmuggling would be attended with very good effeCt in a moral point of view. The difference between Cane and Pigroll is in the quality of the Tobacco used for each ; Cane Tobacco, which is of the thickest, and generally of the coarsest kind, is ufed for both chewing and fmoaking: Pigtail is smaller, and made of finer Tobacco, and is uled for chewing only. He manufactures his Snuff- rolls of the weight of from 60 to 7olbs. but grinds only in such quantities as to have always a frefh fupply of Snuff. He thinks that a charge of 3,000 lbs. weight of Tobacco upon the Manufacturer of one Table, and c^ ooolbs. tor every additional Table, every quarter cf a year, would not be too high, and that few Manufacturers would objeCt to be charged to that extent; but he is of opinion, that the most- effeCtual means of preventing smuggling would be to lower the Duty. James Molineux. J. S. Rochfort, Fredk Geale, Charles Saxton. oriw n ' No. 32. The Examination of Mr. BOOTH DAWSON, Gauger; taken on Oath, the 19th of OCtober, and 13th of November 1807. T- his Examinant faith, That he has been a Gauger in charge of Manufacturers in Dublin about years; on his being put on this duty, he did not receive any printed form of inftruc- tions, nor the Act of Parliament regulating the collection of this branch of the Re- venue : t iat a Gauger, when put in charge of a Tobacco walk by his Surveyor, is accompanied by him to the entered houses of each Manufacturer therein, and at the examination of the ftock ; if any doubt is entertained of its agreeing in amount with ' the ftock as taken at the last visit made by any Officer of Excife, the whole ought to be weighed off; except the Snuff- case, which is prohibited by Law from being weighed.