The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-06-25 00:00:00

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of the years he. shooll attempt to raise the same
sum by addhiar.al t aes.
Mr. W. SMITH said, that morally speaking, as
the ptakice of Lotteries was allcr.ved to be a bad
one, it should not be recognized by Parliament ; at
the same time, howevei, he must acknowledge that
the present was a very unfavourable time for relin-
quishing so great a source of revenue. He was
afraid, that notwithstanding all the precautions
taken, some method was still found out for the
coutinuance of low insarances ; and Lotteries were
the more dangerous, as in a neighbouring country
1.-e had the example of the vices and profligacy
taking place, in consequence of gambling being
countenanced and made sourcfot revenue by the
Government.
Mr. WILBERFORCE esinsidered Lotteries to
be still very mischievous, and 'to promote gambling
very much by means of the extremely low shares
in -which the tickets are sold in. manufaetoring
towns ; and upon which he thought it would be hut
• right to put down. Lotteries altogether ; for; of all
our taxes, he considefed this to be the heaviest, and
bear hardest on the penvile.
Mr. V.ANSITTAR'L remind 2d the House, that
the.euhdivisione of tickets, at the lowest, were still
too high-for the poorer classes to deal much in, and
/rely unlike the subdivisions of insurance, and par-
ticularly some years since, when hand-bills were
distributed, aretouncing lately Liarager aid gui-
or,a; to b: gai fir _a f4rto.ig radd;,b. Another thing
he wished to mention in reef of the efficacy of the
rnothod of drawing the Lottery. There was a
Pawnbroker in town, be understood, who, at the
cemmeeeement of every Lottery, took care to pro-
viJe himself with an additional leer thee and pound:,
but who, during the List drawing, had no occasion
to touch a single. shilling of it.
Mr. COR.RY aeserted, that similar °fleas had
been praduzed by the new sestera in Ireland.
The Resolutions were then agreed to, and the
Report ordered to be received on Mouday.
Sir H. MILDMAY wished to know whether the
Ministereneant to persist in bringing forward the
National Defence Bill on Monday, as tnere was ano-
tine' business of very great importance which stood
for the sortie day.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER.
replied, that the National Defence Bill should from
its importance have the precedency, and it .was
therefore his intention to bring it on first on Mon-
day. But-for the better arrangement of business he
moved, that tile Real Property Bill should stand for
Tuesday, and the Personal Property Bill for Wed-
neseley pelt, which was agreed to.
F XCIsE DUTIES.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
moved, that the House should resolve itself into a
Committee on the Excise Duty Bill.
Mr. PIPMER observed, that there were four
articles contained in the same, which he wished to
be divided into four diXereat Bills, or at least into'
two. The measure was to raise the sum of 6,000,0001.
He had no olojcaion to all that money being raised,
brat if there .was one of them he disliked, though
he may appiove the rest, could not obje& to
that one Without' opposing the whole. • lie there
fore moved, that it be an instruetion to the Corn..
mittce to divide the present into two or more Bills.
It was, he said, usual always to allow this when
one Bill enthtesced two separate objects.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCEEQUER
said, if the proccediog was irregular it Would not
have advanced so far ; but it was the usual method,
where the collet line on arrangements of different.
Articles were the sane, to put them into one Bill to
avoid the trouble aed itcoevenience of repeating
the same discussions several times. In the Commit-
tee any parts of the Bill may he altered, amended', or
9miued ; so on the report, oe.ly that then no eddi-
tion could be made to the amount of the duties ; the
seme on the tl,ird reading, and indeed through all
the stages till the last, upon the question, "that this
Dill do pass," whin no alteration could be made,
Mr. Certwright and Captain Harlrey were for the
division of the uai.
After some farther conversation, the motion was
negitived.
Sir J. S. ERSKINiE wished to know if it was
Meant to debate the Bill to-night.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
replied, that he meant to propose. to-night the alte-
ration he• had t 9. gther :Gentlemen may
empress or reserve their opinions as they thought pro-
per.
The House then resolved itself into a Committee,
Mr. Alexander. iu the Chair.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
rose to state the alteraticins he meant to propose, in
order to obviate some okicaions which he had heard:
made. The Union provided, that Scotland should
pay no more than one half of the dtity which was
paid uilou malt in England; but at that time there
mu. no herley in elcotiand, and their malt was male
of beer, whlch was a grain of ex-, infeier quality
to barley. • That mode of taxation continued 'till
the !.alt year. During the lest century, malt
was made of a better quality in some parts of
Scotland by a mixture of barley, which had been
. imported from England, and cultivated there,
from bear or big. Ie the last leer, the duty on
malt made. from big and herley, was eqstalled
with our., made from barley. measure causAi
a great seresezion in Scotland, 4cauee the sea-
- son,that year was very unpropitious for the growth
of barley,-and as we were blessed with a very plenti-
ful harvest, large importations were made cf it into
Scotland. The dearth of. barley arising from ih :se
combined causes, was attributed to the duly, thsugh
it should more properly be ascribed to the badness
of the season. It Was generally asserted, that the
barley and bi 7 of the Highlands, and some °dr
parts of Scotland, were not so good as those of Eng-
. land; and he thought it no there than justice, th:4
some distinetion should be made in favour of &oil.
land,which no Erglishmen would objet to, as we all
bad an equal interest in the prosperity and cult:is-I:Con
, of all parts of the kingdom. The Scotch required a
diminution of the duty from three shillings to one
shilling and sixpence. That he conceived re b
unreasonable, and he should thercfere propose a
duty equal to two.thirds of what was paid in Eng-
. land. It was a matter that required great and mi-
nute enquiry and investigation, and it was his in-
tention to propose, in the next Session of Par-
, Lament, for a Committee to enqurre into the corn-
paeetiv.e quality of the barley In the respeCtive
-countries ; but to' escape frauds, it would be neces-
sary to guard against .the importation of English'
-barley, coastvreys.into Scotland. At -ptesent in both
tiountries theee was a prodigious.quantity of it' on
band.