S o J • J NR. I D W^ io'nth REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS [ Excife incr periQds. If the objeft of this arrangement/ were to guard a- ainft die faifiiication of the Vouchers, while paftfng through the " Colleftor's Office, it does not. feem fo well calculated fair that purpole, as the more fimple mcaftire of the charging Officer tralifmitting one part direftly to the Examiner of Excife ; but we appreWnd that a compan- ion of the Stock Books with the Vouchers, might ftill be advantage- iOufly made, in order to afcertam that the charge of Duty contained in the latter, correfponded with the entries thereof in the former, and if the • Officers were required, upon their receiving from trie Trader any notice affecting fuch charge, to traufcribe the fame forthwith into their Stock Books, and return the original notices together with them, in the manner fuggefted in our obfervadons on the Paper Duties 3 this examination . might then ferve, not only to afcertaiti the accuracy of the calculation, but alfo to eftablifh the legality of fuch abatements of charge, as might have been admitted by the charging Officers. With relpedt to the • manner of conducting the comparifon between the Stock Book and the Voucher, we conceive that a written ftatement of the produce of each diftrift extrafted from the Stock Books, and a like account extracted from the Vouchers, fhould be regularly furnifhed to the Board, as more to be relied 011 than the tranfienl and uncertain infpeftion of the examin- ing Officers. Befides collecting the Duties of Inland Excife, the Quit and other Crown Rents, and fome other fmall branches of the Public Revenue, the Collectors of Excife receive the produce of the AffefTed Taxes from Appendix, iS ® 2. the Hearth- money Collectors. The Collectors frame and return to the Accountant General three feparate Accounts, denominated from the periods to which they are refpeftively made up, their Weekly and Monthly Abftrafts, and Quarterly Accounts. In the weekly Account or Abftraft, the Colleftor debits himfelf with the amount of all Duties brought to charge within the week, with the Quit and other Crown Rents in the week in which each half year's gale becomes due, and with all other turns aftually received within the week. As the Colleftor is thus charged with the whole of the Excife produce for the week, and is only permitted to take credit in this Account for his payments, he muft appear to be debtor for all fuch Duties as are outftandir. g, as well thofe aftuaily in arrear, as thofe, which not being payable until a future day, are alfo included in the Arrear Account. ' I hefe nominal arrears, together with the aftual arrears, i. e. the ferns due and which ought to to have been received, the unpaid Bills in the Receiver General's hands, and the Cafh in hand, conftiture the balance arainPi the Colleftor, for O ' which he debits himfelf in his weekly Abftraft. At the foot of this weekly Abftraft, he makes out an Account of Arrears, under their refpec- tive heads of duty, entitled, " Arrears claimed as outftanding," diftin- guilhing the arrears of former years from thofe of the current year, and ftating the latter in the order of the month in which they accrued. Ibid. iu the monthly Abftraft the Colleftor places unde. their relpeftive heads on the debtor iide, the arrears which appeared to be outftaoding by the laft month's Abftraft, the grofs produce of each branch of Duty within the month, and his. receipts of Cafh in the fame period ; and 011 the creditor fide, the a.', ears outftanding at the end of the month, and his . payments"; thefe feveral heads are brought to a total, but a balance is . ftruck