The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-10-13 00:00:00

THE I3RITISH PRESS.

I Forbes) is the Sheriff of Perthshire, and the Stamp Dis-
tributor for this district, Mr. Husband, is his Sheriff-sub-
stitute, he had obviously the means of obtaining full in-
formation as to whatever related to it. The Cotninission-
ers put the point for your consideration thus—lf Perth-
shire has only one Distributor, why should Forfarshire,
which is not greater in extent Bud population, require
four? But there is another view of the question, and it Is
this—lf Forfarshire requires four' Distributors for the offi-
cial supply of the district, how can it he that Perthshire,
which is nearly double in extent, should be put under
one? Now I have no hesitation in saying, that the for-
tier ersngement is the beneficial one for the public—the
latter the profitable one for the individual. I remember
this struck me forcibly when I was myself at Perth. The
Perth district reaches to within one mile of Stirling, and
even heyoml it in another direction, to Dumbartonshire on
the South West, and Argyleshire and Aberdeenshire on
the North and North West ; it is in many places seventy
or eighty miles in extent. Mr. Husband. the Distributor,
as well as the Sheriff's Substitute for Perthshire, makes
this extensive Distributorship a complete sinecure, and its
management is certainly not such as to furnish an example
that would at all warrant the placing all Forfarshirc under
a sim4le Distributor.
The Commissioners add, _

" Nor cal we pee rel necessity Fir haring n %Ili-distributor at
Inverley. and antrher wri.in a few wires at Campbel-tows., in the
Highland aid thinly peopled malty of ,Irgyle. If these were
revevively consolidated, the dis:rict of r,,rlat would fall into the
second else, and Argyle into the Earth ciasa, andthus a further
reduction would be effected."

But the Commissioners are extremely incorrect in stat-
ing Inrerary to be only a few miles from Camphel- town ;
I have been at both places—their distance is between sixty
and seventy miles, and this it is that occasions the necis-
sity of having a Sub-distributor for the supply of Stamps
in each of these places.
I shall conclude this Report with offering some obser-
vations on the proposed reduction of the Distributors' sala-
ries. A reduction of their per wastage will, no doubt, he
so much service to the Revenue; but as far as it affects
the Distributors themselves, it operates very unequally ;
proceeding on no principle of discrimination, it hears very
hard upon some, while it is very favourable to others. If
one Distributor, for instance, lives in a district where there
is a considerable demand for Receipt Stamps, and sells
thirty thousand 2d. Stamps, this (exclusive of Sundays)
Will be about 100 every day thrott4hout the year; the
dine this must occupy, and the trouble it must occasion, is
manifest, and yet his remuneration at 41. per cent. will
amount only to 101., while another Distributor, in a more
opulent district, will receive at one payment an equal
amount—two hundred smith fifty pounds for instance—of
Legacy Duty, and for this single transaction will receive
the same profit of 10/. It is quite clear, therefore, that
to make an indiscriminate reduction of the Distributors'
poundage, without first ascertaining on what class of
Stamps this poundage principally arises, and on the sale of
what denomination of. Stamps it is that, taken on the
average, returns the profit made by the Distributors of the
different districts, must be productive of great hardship
and injustice.

The- sales of the sub-agents, who supply the more
distant parts of the district, consist chiefly of the lower de-
nomination of stamps ; and having no inducement, as their
principals have, in the profit on the higher duties for the
trouble occasioned by the lower, they will gradually
abandon en employment which at present is but ill-paid.
and which they can hardly be expected to retain, should
the Distributors reduce their profit, as of course they will,
in the same ratio in which their own is reduced.

This, should it happen—and it is very likely to do so—
will occasion great etobarrarstnent and inconvenience to the
public, and great loss to the Revenue.

It is just as easy to supply a Deetl Stamp of 20!. as a
Boni Stamp of 205., or a Receipt Stamp of t2tl., and yet
the profit on the one is It— on the other Is., and on the laat
not the half of a farthing.

Distributors of Stamps differ wholly from Receivers-
General of Taxes, or from Receivers oce.Revenue Duties
of any other description ; the latter class of persons may be
alike subjected to the same reduction,. because their duties
are exactly similar, and therefore the rate of reduction,
whatever it may be, applies alike to the whole class. But
in the sale of Stamps, the trouble of selling the very low
price stamps is compensated by the profit on those of
higher amount, and by this mean; it is that the aggregate
profit settles itself into a fair remuneration. This may be
made manifest by a very slight calculation. Taking, for
example, the sale of Receipt Stamps—no person could sell
this class of Stamps alone, at a poundage of 1/. per cent.,
or even 10/. per cent., because, if he were to sell two-
penny Stamps at the rate of one every minute, tluring seven
hours every day (excluding Sundays) throughout the year,
his poundage at the end a it would hardly amount to
forty pounds !
Before any equitable reduction can, therefore. be made
in the allowance given to the Distributor of Stamps, it
seems essential that each Distributor should be first called
upon to transmit an account of the total amount of his an-
nual remittances for a given period, distinguishing each
head of duty, and deeper c•ntage, as it accrued under each.
This account would show in what proportion the poundage
should be aeljnsted, sapocsing them, for instance, to be
classed in some such manner as the following ;
Poundage on Stamps under the value of 6.1., and under Is.
Of the value of and under I/.
Of the valve of I/., and under 50/. -
. _

Of the value of .51/1. and ,ipward __.
. .
On all other Dutie‘ except on b .14,1 cir. Probates. Admini-
stration in Enland, and Inventory Duties in SoAland.
On any amount of Duty under 1001. paid on any Legacy,
Probate, or Atintinistratima, or Inventory -
On any such Duty so paid, amounting to 1001. and un-
der riont. . - - -
_ _ .

If amounting to aOOl., and under 1.0091.
If amounting to 1,000/. and upwards-

.

-
On this system it would not be difficult so to apportion
the poundage, as might, under any reduction, put the
respective Distributors on a fair scale of remuneration ;
but an equal reduction of their per tentage, when the
labour and profit of the duty to be discharged is unequal,
must always afford ground of complaint; this, however,
must unavoidably be the result of any system which does
not proceed oil some such principle of appointment as
above suggested.
I have the honour to be, my Lords,
Your Lordships' most ot edient wrvant,
JAMES SEDOWICK, Chairman.
To the Right Honourable the Lords Coal-
mis.ioners of his Majesty's Treasury.
I had intended in my next Letter to trace the intimate
connexion between this uommission of Inquiry of Messrs.
Sykes and Fortis, and that Commission of Inquiry of
which you are the Chairman, sod of which this was the
precursor. But the extract in the daily papers betokened
the appearance of die Appendix to the fourteenth R: port ;
and having glanced my eye over the copy which I have
just procured, I shall not fail to make it the topic of a
few remarks, which, in the way of illustration, it seems
imperiously to call for. You will, therefore, pardon me
if I sair this to take precedence of the subject to which
I bad intended that my next Letter should have been
devoted. I subscribe myself, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
JAMES SEDGII ICK.
Stamp-office, Somerset-house. Oct. 11, 11126,
ERRAT M.—At the close of Mr. Sedgwick's letter to Mr. Wal-
lace, in the British Press of Wednesday, for " that I may not
interrupt the pain of reflection," read " the train of reflection."

The workmen of several of the principal cotton-mills in
this vicinity have received warning of the intention of the
proprietors to make a reduction of one farthing on the
rates paid for cotton spinning. The rates paid to the
power-loom weavers and dressers have in some instances
undvrgone a reduction of about a third.—Ghogow (;/iron.
The attempt to intimidate the new workmen at the
cotton-mill, in Gorbals, has been completely baffl ed. They
are continuing at their employment in perfect security and
peace. Captain Graham, to prevent further molestation,
ordered a strong party of police to be in readiness in the
evenings to escort the new workers into town, and appre-
hend any disturbers of the public peace. On the first ap-
pearance of the police, the mob scampered off in all direc-
tions, and have not shown face since. Thus have the ope-
rations of the combination been thwarted, and a fresh
inatance been afforded to proprietors of cotton works of the
advdniage of employing men unconnected with the ex-
clusive monopolies of trade attempted to be enforced in
this tit ighbaurhood.—Glasgow Chronicle.