Star.
London, England, 1808-04-21 00:00:00

STAMP DUTIES

The printe4 schedule of alteritions in the Stamp
buties, proposed by the Chancellor of the Exche.
quer, presents several articles, which are more of the
nature of new duties than matter of regulation. h
contains 49 folio pages closely printed, and, among
others, the following
A duty upon Protest: of tills of ttchiege, or Pro,
thisSory Notes, fur any sum not exceeding £2O 2s; ;
AKAN 3s. ; £lOO, ss. ; £5OO and upwards, • 10s. A
Protest of any kind bears a stamp, for every. sheet :V.
Upon Polieie: of Insurance fir Life or Lives, there is
a duty of RI 10s. whatever may be the amount of the
insurance. Hitherto this has been considered as a
matter or prudential benevolence to be spared. It
leads to the happiest results. It is the only means bY
which the industrious Mechanic; the artist, the pro.
fessional man, the civil tir military officer, and all the
persons whose incomes depend on their own lives, eau
Make a provision for •their families. And, with
view to encourage this provident economy, Mr. Pitt
even allowed the annual premium to be deducted
from the Income Tax. It is now to be subjected to
a heavy duty.
Upon Country Bank Meer thTre is the following scale
of ditties i

If made payable in the Metro- If only made payable it bug
0614 as well as hi the Coun- 11l ice, whether in Town W.
try. Country.
Not exceeding s. d. Noi eiceedMg s.
41 d 4 41 1 - o g
2 2 - b s 2 . 1 0
S S - 1 0 • 3 S - e
so o • ' 1 6 0. • •••••••• •;•—"t 0
• • Country Bankers tio take Out a Liceriee yearly, on
Which there is a duty of Je2.o.
Upon Transfer: of , Bank StoCk br S.-ma Sea Stodc,
a duty of 9d. ;of East India Stock, £1 10s.
Upon every Transfer of a Share or Shares in the
Stock or Fund of any other Carporation,Cbinpany, or
Society whatever, a duty of 41 10s. ••

This makes a new order of things in itsrd W all •
Joint Suck Coiiipanies. As Mr. PERCEVAL stated
this duty in Parliament, it was a Stamp to be in pro-
portion to the actual value of the Share ; bnt in the
Schedule it is a thirty shilling Stamp on every Trans.
fer, let the value be what it may.

Upon Conveyance: of Estates, a duty, according to
the amount of the purchase-money, where the latter is
less than £l5O, £l.-8150, Fl. 10s.-000, At 10s.
£5OO, 15.-;—and so on at the rate of 10 per cent. up
to 150,000, on which the Stamp Duty is 1500, and
the same for any largtr sum.
The same duty upon Leases fat life or lives, or tot
term of years in consideration of anj fine.
. Upon Mortgage:, wheie the surri is less than £lOO,
11..10c.—.1100, C 2.-1300, sliS. and soon in pro-

portion. Where the sum is more than than £20,000).
the duty is £2O. . •
A similar duty upon Bonds, and in a similar pro.
portion oh Bonds for securing the payment of An.
nuities.

The article Agreement, is extended every mi..
mite or memorandum of an agreement under hand,
only where the matter shall be of the value of 020 or
upwards on which there is a duty of 16s. and a pro-
gressive duty according to its length.
Upon Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes ex.
ceeding .I€3boo there is a duty of £l.
On Articles of Clerkship to Attornies, RIIO. Ap
prehtices 06 Writers to the Sighet in Scotland are also
subjected to a duty of 3E55, and an innumerable list o
articles in law procets, and in every way in which pa-
per is used as a medium, test, or notice of any.
transaction between man and man.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

NE\VMARKET CRAVEN MEETING.
WRDNESDAY, APRIL 20.

Mr. Permor's Cerberus beat Mr. Shakespeare's
Wormwood, Bst. Sib. each. Ab. M. 100gs.--5 to 4
agst. Cerberus.
A Subscription Plate of £5O for 2-yr. olds; 7st. ; 3-yr-
olds, Bst. 71b. ; and 4-yr. olds 9st. Two-yr. old
Course.

Lord Stawero b. c. Deceiver, 4yn. - - 1
Sir C. Turner's cb. c. Mr. Lundy, 3yrs. . - It
Sir J. Shelley's b. c. Clasher, 4yrs, • - . 3
6to 4 agst. Deceiver-3 to 1 agst. Mr. Gundy-5 to
1 agst. Clasher.

Mr. Shakespear's Discount, by Teddy, (bought at
Tattersall's) beat Mr. Panton's c by Buzzard, out of
Mandane, Bst. 21b. each. Two•yr. old course, 100 gs.
11 to 8 agst. Discount.
The Third Class of the Oatland Stakes of 50gs. each,

h. ft. D. I.
Mr. Batten's Charmer, 4yrs. Est. 131 b. - • I
Lord GrosVenor's Meteora, Syrs. mst. 91b. - - e
Sir J. Honywood't Bacchanal, (late Goblet) Syrs. 7st. S
Mt. Lake's Gaiety, Syrs. llst. - - • •
Mr. Wyndham's c. by Schedoni, 4yrs. 7st. 141 b.
Sir C. Turner's Thomasina, 3yrs. 7st. 91b.
Mr. Fermor's Brighton, Syrs. 7st. 21b.
Mr. C. Browne', b. f. by Patriot, out of Miss Mutton, Syrs.6lt.6lb.
The Judge could place but four.
_ _

...
20 to 1 apt. Charmer-4 ta 1 agst. Meteora-2 to 1
agst. Brighton.
- - -

Lord Grosvenor's b. c. Chester, by Sir Peter, dam
by Woodpecker, Bst. Sib. rec. ft. from Lord F. G.
Osborne's bl. 1. (dead) b♦ Trumpafor, out of a sister
to Royalist, Bst. Ab. M. 200 gs. h. ft. _ _

Lord Lowther's Brainworm, Sst. Sib. rec. ft. from
Mr. Fermor's Stripling, 7st. Across the Flat, 100 gs.
h. fn

Major Wilson's b. c. by Sir Peter out of Illtown
Charlotte, Bst. 21b. rec. ft. from Mr. C. Browne's bro.
ther to Ittidstone, 84. elb, D. I. 50gs. Wit.

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lATICA INTELLIGENCE.

strobfera wifireth
We were equally disappointed in our application ti.
whichmanY ckthelrhappestedpaperiss: thuelltehiencllfir':
the Comptroller's Mice for it, where, as the Apc.
thecary General's bills are examined by the Liam,-
trollers, we conceived that such a document would
have been recorded. Had it been produced, it would
probably have appeared whether the uirtution was
applicable to one particular account of the Apothe-
sary General, or was to be applied to all the subse-
quent accounts ; and if it was, whether any rule was
laid down for what was to be considered as the usw. I
credit which Government would take ; and if that
was exceeded, at, what rate, after the specified pe-
riods, the increase on the market prices was to be al-
lowed. It was impossible for us, without knowing
these particulars, to judge correctly of the conduct of
the Physician and Surgeon General in controlling the
prices in these accounts.
As, however, the present form of Certilicate ,an,
nexed to the Apothecary General's bill, appears to
have been in use for some years, we may infer, that
the directions alluded to were to be applied to all the
bills, Out that no rule for estimating for the delay of
payment was laid down in the directions; because the
Physician General says, that " they are guided by
no rule in their allowance for covering the delay of
payment."
Before we prcceed to state the course we have fo:,
lowed in videavouring to get at a correct judgment
of the prices allowed in these bills, it may be proper
to notice, that the form of the Certificate, at present
signed by the Physician and Surgeon General, differs
from that which was in use when Sir Clifton Wit,
tringham was Physician General to the Army. His
Certificate states, " that the medicines and materials,
as recited in the invoices, had, agreeably to their re-
spective dates, been carefully viewed and examined
by him, and that they were found to be very good ;
and further, that he believes the prices, as far as his
inquiries could ascertain, were reasonable, as being
rated at the current price which they bore at the time
they were supplied by the Apothecary General."-,-
From this form of certificate we infer, that the very
articles named in the invoices had been examined by
the Physician General on the dates of their being
placed in the packages ; and that the current rate of
price on the days of the supply was that which was,
certified by him.
The present form of the certificate states, that the
Physician General and Surgeon General " have
from time to time carefully examined the different
articles contained in the account, and that they have
uniformly found them of the best quality." What-
ever inference may be drawn from the words used in
this certificate, we learn from Mr. Clarke, that there
is no security but the " integrity of the parties ems
ployed," that the articles which have been inspected
are the articles which had been issued from the Ela.

;•

boratory,
The present certificate further states, that "having
examined the prices charged, and having taken into
consideration the directions received from the Trea,
sury, that they were to pay attention to the delay in
the payment, they are of opinion, that the Apothe-
cary General's charges to the public are fair and rea-
sonable." This part of the present certificate does
not, like the former certificate, afford a ground for
inferring that the prices which are certified are at the
current rate of the days of supply ; but the Physician
General says, " that in checking the Apothecary Ge-
neral's charges, he always takes into consideration the
variation in the prices of the medicines." On an in-
spection, however, of the two accounts which we have
procured from the treasury, one of which amounts to
about forty-four thousand five hundred pounds, and
the other to upwards of seventy-five thousand pounds,
we cannot find, except in one or "two instances, that
there is any r Liation in the prices charged in each
year, notwithstanding the supply is extended through
the whole of the year ; and we have understood that
in one material article at least, that of bark, there
was a very great variation in its price during one of
the years.
We have to remark too, in an investigation of those
bills, that the prices charged by the Apothecary Gee
mut have been uniformly admitted : for we can find
no alteration or deduction in any one of the charges.
Yet this allowance for the delay in payment is not
added by the Physician and Surgeon General at the
end of the account, as a per centage for a certain spe-
cified period on the stun total of it, but forms part of
the charges on some or all of the items ; and must be
considered, therefore, as being left to the discretion pf
the Apothecary General.
It is obvious how difficult it must be to check such
charges, by comparing them with the charges made
by ethers in the trade. But, conceiving that the
most satisfactory mode of doing it would be to com-
pare the total amount charged by the Apothecary Ge-
neral for certain invoices of medicines furnished to the
army, with the total amount which others woulfl
have charged for the same under similar circum-
stances, we submitted particular invoices of medicines,
furnished by the Apothecary General in the years
1804 and 1805, but without his prices affixed, to the
consideration of two or three eminent druggists and
chemists, and we desired them to affix the prices
which the best articles of the kind bore in those years.
And, for a further comparison, we procured from the
Ordname and Transport Boardiohe bills for medi-
cines srVplied for their use during the years 1804 and
1805 ; the first of these Boards -being supplied by a
druggist, and the other by the Apothecaries Company.
Ihe blank invoice which we submitted to Messrs.
Kempson and Co. druggists in London, was, for a
regimental chest of medicines furnished by the Apo-
thecary General in 1805, the bill for which was com-
municated tp us by Mr, Calvert Clarke. It will be
seen on an inspection of the two columns in which
the different rates of charges of the Apothecary. Ge-
neral and of Messrs. Kempson and Co. are given,
that the rates of the first are almost in, every instance
higher than those of Messrs. Kempson;,gnd, on the
amount of the whole, are 40 per cent. 'higher than
theirs ; yet Mr. Kempson says, that o. Ili; prices
woidd have afforded him something handsome is d g
way of profit ; and that the price of bark', particu-
larly, is takes at a high valuation."
The blank bills submitted to Messrs. Godfrey and
Cooke, and to Messrs Corbyn end Co. also chemists
and dragertgrse'ip Lopdop, were copied from invoices
of Much quantities than that submitted to Mr,
Kempson, and were selected from the Apothecary
General's bills for 1804 and 1805. On an inspectigh
Qf the ootopwatin 43tement jo tilt AProci 41 of VP