THE STAMPS.

STAMPS are of comparatively modern date. When the Dutch were re doted to great pecuniary straits in their contest for independence against Spain, they offered a reward to him who should invent, not a new plea- sure, but the best new tax. Hence the vertiyal charter, which was esta- blished by Holland in 1624, and very shortly spread over Europe. " There is no art," says Aims' Saturn, "which one Government sooner' learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people." If Stamps be considered in their strictest sense,-an impression affixed to an instrument to render it valid,-several things, are by

the Revenuc-laws of England, subjected to El St amp-duty, which do not in their stature come under that head of revenue; such as the Taxes

on Advertisements, Stage-Coaches, &c. They are celled Stamps merely because they arc managed by the Stamp-Office. In an ex=

amination of this branch of the Public Income, we shall adopt a more. distinct classification, and not only consider them according to their. incidence, but according to their nature. And first the Stamps par ex-

cellence, or TAXES ON LEGAL INSTRUMENTS.

These are so numerous and so various, and such a multitude of details. would have to be considered in a full examination of the subject, that. the discussion is much more fitted for a competent committee of men of business than for a journal. As, however, these duties are very unequal,.

and it seems probable that a judicious modification would render their pressure less upon those who are least able to bear the weight, and at the same time benefit the revenue, we shall offer a few observations. upon the subject, after presenting a table of the amount they yield, and a scale of a few of the principal duties. Those who wish to know. the number and exact amount of the different instruments subjected to the Stamp-duty, must procure a schedule of the Act.

Deeds and other Instruments.. .Z1,512,105 Agreement, 11. to 1/. 15s. Bonds and Mortgages, 2/. to Is. per cent. Conveyances, 21. 10s. to U. per cent. Leases. 51. to 11. per cent.

Settlements, '2s. to 3s. 6d. per cent.

And many other Instruments at various Duties.

The inequality in these ditties is palpable-at a glance, not merely in their graduation, but in their nature. A settlement implies compe- tence, if not wealth ; a bond or a mortgage as certainly implies distress.

Yet to settle a gift for 1,0001. or under, a stamp of It I5s. is only ne- cessary ; to secure a loan of the sane amount, a stamp-duty of .5/. is

required, and 41. is chargeable on half the SUM. And even here the man of large possessions fares better than the owner of a small property. The one can borrow 20,000/ for 2s. per cent., the other on a loan of 50/. must pay 2/. per cent. A similar inequality in kind, though not in degree, obtains in Leases and Conveyances. The proper course of pro- ceeding on this class of Stamps would lie to charge an ad valorem duty according to the value of the property in the deed. If any duty appears peculiarly oppressive, it might be abolished or greatly reduced. We may observe, however, not as a matter of censure, but as a matter of fact, that let some of these be graduated bow they may, they will still in strictness be unequal. Bonds, Mortgages, Conveyances, Settle- ments, all imply the parting with property, which is rarely done if it can be avoided. Those who convey are subject to a tax-those who keep escape it. This class of duties are frequently, therefore, taxes on Necessity.

TAXES ON PRUDENCE.

Fire Insurances £789,932 3s. per cent.

This duty is also, after the straightest classification, a stamp-duty, and is tolerably equal in its nature so far as falling proportionately on all insurers. It is, however, unequal in its practical operation,--men of large possessions becoming their own insurers, especially in house property which is situated in different places. This conduct cannot be followed by persons of small or moderate fortune ; for though the odds are greatly against the fire occurring, yet if it does occur, they are ruined. As the tax is established, and there are many duties of a more mis- chievous nature, its total repeal, perhaps, is not advisable, but a reduc-

tion of the percentage is greatly to be desired. The premium paid to the office for a common insurance, is just half that which is paid to Government for—nothing. One of the highest authorities, Mr. P. Tuomsoar, maintains, that if the duty were reduced to Is. 6d. per cent. the revenue would suffer very little, from the great number of new in- surances that would be effected, and the extension that would take place on the old.

TAXES ON PERSONAL PROPERTY.

Probates of Wills and Letters of Administration 4844,123 Probates. 10s. to 15,0001. Letters of Administration. II. to 22,500/.

Legacies 1,157,802 Relations. 1,3, 5, and 6/. per emit. Very remote Kindred or Strangers, 101. per X2,001,930 cent.

This class of duties is of great antiquity. A tax of 5 per cent. was imposed by AUGUSTUS upon successions and donations, with the excep- tion of near relations or the poor. At present these taxes are unpo- pular amongst the uninformed or unthinking, because they are direct payments, and the sum taken is often very large. It is not, however, easy to point out a better tax. It is finite in its operation ; the inconve- nience, whatever it be, being confined to the individual, and that is chiefly the " unavoidable one of paying the tax." Yet even this pay- ment takes place at the most conveuient time ; in the case of the Pro- bate-duty after death, when all the property is collected for distribu- tion, and considerable family changes are of necessity taking place ; in the instance of the Legacy-duty on the receipt of the bequest. A cla- mour has been raised, and the Leading Journal has done its best to encourage it, about the cruelty of taxing the orphan, and, if we mistake not, the widow. Widows, however, pay no tax ; and the father, mo- ther, or children and " their descendants," are only charged one per cent. If the deduction of IL from 100/, or 101. from 1,0001., can cause any se- rious inconvenience, it must be such an exception as no legislation could ever guard against. These taxes, so far as they extend, are tolerably equal in their ope- ration; though a long-lived family have this advantage, that the transfer does not take place quite so quickly. The exaction of the Probate- duty from insolvent estates is an abuse, and should be rectified ; for though the money is subsequently returned, it is only obtained after a good deal of trouble, and probably some expense, especially to inha- bitants of the country. The duty of Wills, where the property left is of small amount, should also be rendered a little easier : an ad valorem Probate-duty would also be an improvement ; though the present gra- duation is fairer than in many other cases. The higher duty on Letters of Administration seems a sort of tax upon improvidence. An abuse of the grossest and most barefaced kind is, however, con- nected with these duties, and that is the total exemption of Real Property from their operation. A devise of a freehold estate is beyond the reach of the Probate-duty ; the inheritor of a hundred thousand a year from the same kind of property is exempt from the payment of a farthing. Such scandalous inequality would never have existed so long, had either the people or the property of the country been fairly represented. The abolition of this feudal distinction must he amongst the first financial acts of a Reformed Parliament. This most just extension of a very proper class of taxes, may perhaps yield a million and a half of revenue. Mr. Hume and some other have rated its pro- duce at two millions, or as much as the present duties on personal pro- perty; but we question the correctness of their conclusion. The whole personal property of the country is of greater value, we apprehend, than the whole of the real ; and the descent of the latter is generally in a Much directer line than that of the former. Long leases, also, of a beneficial nature, are sometimes carved out of freehold estates; and there are, besides, the incumbrances upon property of this nature, which are already subject to duty. It has been stated, indeed, that this inequality is not real ; freehold property being subjected to stamp-duties on conveyance, settlement, letting, &c., from which personal is altogether free. With the excep-

tion of conveyances, the assertion is incorrect : all personal property being subject to stamps on settlement, and no distinction being made in the duty on leases, whether the estate be copyhold, leasehold, or free- hold. Even in conveyances, it is only in sales by private contract that real property bears a peculiar burden ; the auction-duty is levied with- out regard to the nature of the estate. But there is a ready way to meet the difficulty. Remit any tax which bears peculiarly upon real

property. TAXES ON INCOME OR PROFITS.

Bills of Exchange.... ..... ........... 4511,823 Is. to U. 101.

Receipt Stamps . 218,546 2d. to lUs. Licences* ann Certificates ..... ....... 165,695 Various. Composition and Duties on Bank of England

and Bankers' Notes, &e........... •.... 121,881 Duty 5d. to tris. 6d.

Race Horses ..... ...... . ... • • • •. 1.317 Protests (Irish)... ............. .......... 5,533 Attorneys' Clerks. Barristers, and Students' Indentures and Admissions 16,104 Various.

£1,074,199

Taxes of this kind are generally considered as a sort of tax upon con- sumption. If a Licence-duty be levied upon a certain class of traders, the persons who employ them, it is held, must not only repay the amount of the duty, but also the trader's profit upon his advance. Where a considerable sum is paid for the licence, this would un- doubtedly be true. The public would moreover have to pay for the virtual monopoly such a class of taxes would create. In practice, how- ever, this does not seem to be the case. There is no difficulty in pro- curing the licence ; the duties are never so high as to prevent any one entering a particular business (for though many may appear heavy—as a Banker's Licence, 301.—they bear no proportion to the capital which the business requires); and if the small comparative amount paid for the licence be recovered from each individual, it is in such minute pro- portions that it must be quite unfelt. Physicians would not reduce their fee if their licence were abolished. An appraiser's charge would not be less were the ten shillings he annually pays remitted. The same arguments apply to Receipts and Bankers' Stamps. It does not seem credible that the rate of discount would be lower, or that either rents or prices would fall, were this class of duties repealed. The

* The Excise Licences collected by that department amount to 919,1741. direct incidence of Bills of Exchange seems similar ; they fall tit n the parties who pay them in the first instance. Whether their indirect ope-

ration upon business may not have a mischievous effect, it is not so easy to say. It probably has, by its interference with the freedom of sale. The tax on Indentures is, we believe, included in Law Stamps. Ex- cept the duty where no premium is paid, which is a tax upon industry, this last class of duties seem a deduction from the master's premium ; or, in the higgling of the market, perhaps, it would be divided. A similar observation holds good with regard to the Admissions of Bar- risters' Clerks, &c., though this tax is also intended to operate as a test of respectability. Many proposals have been made for the partial or universal extension of Licences. The latter plan would yield a large amount of revenue, and it would be collected at a very small expense ; neither is there any reason why one class of callings should lie taxed and others escape. But

the duty would fall very unequally. A dealer, for instance, 1010 gained

2,000/. or 3,0001. a year, would pay no more than another who gets but 200/. or 3001. The Government attempt, in the case of the learned professions, to graduate according to the length of time time individual has practised, is but a clumsy plan. To take the rent of the house, the size of the premises, or the number of persons employed, would be little better and very vexatious. A test, derived like that upon maltsters, from the quantity of business done, is only practicable where the trade is subject to the Excise. Any graduation founded on an in- quiry into the receipts would be a bastard and partial income-tax. It would not extend to a man's whole income, but 'nerdy to that portion of it derived from his occupation ; and both stipendiaries and persons living on their property would escape. A partial extension is open to all these objections, with the additional ones that it would yield less and be still more unequal. When a Property-tax is imposed, we should suggest their reduction and modification, with a view to remit them at the first opportunity. The whole of these duties require revision ; but not having the amounts they respectively yield, we can only throw out a few sugges- tions. Both the Receipt and Bill Stamps might be graduated on as fairer scale. This especially applies to Receipt Stamps for large amounts, where no risk would be run in the evasion on account of the sum at stake ; and in the lower duty a considerable reduction might be tried, with a view to increase the produce, as this class of dunes are now very generally evaded in business transactions; unless a Property- tax be imposed, receipts should also be extended to the Dividends. Some few of the licences, where they extend to retail trades, are pro- ductive of inconvenience both to the public and the dealer, by prevent-

ing him from selling some particular article. These. at all events, should be modified or abolished. The tax on Mee- horses, yielding only 1,3171., should be got rid of. The separation of these animals. from pleasure-horses, and their transfer from the Taxes to the Stamps, is a proof of what little regard is paid to order or method in the con- duct of cur public business.

TAXES ON TRADE.

Marine Insurances 4:2°2,927 1s. 3d. to 5s. per cent., varying according;

to the rate of premium and rice voyage.

Stage Coaches 422.479 Id. to 4d. per mile,arcordiEg to the number

of passengers carried.

Gold Plate Ws. pe- on. Silver Is. 6d. pc:,

Post Horses 231.563

Medicitu 34,638 Gold and Silver Plate (and Li-

cences in Ireland) 78,174 oz.

Cards and Dice 16,725 .006,806

These items, though placed amongst the Stamps, are clearly taxes failing upon those who make use of the articles, the first payer only advancing the duty. The tax on Marine Insurances goes further than this, and is mischievous in its nature, and still more in its rate. By, raising the premium, or in some cases altogether preventing insurance, it has a tendency to embarrass the operations of commerce and diminish the fitcility of transport. This evil tendency is aggravated by the in- judiciously high rate which drives business to Holland amid America, and also diminishes the revenue. In the five years ending 1815, the average number of tons of British shipping cleared outwards, was 1,381,041/. The net revenue from Marine Insurances in 1814, was 418,000/. In 1831, the number of tons had increased to 2,300,731!; the revenue had fallen to 222,97l. ; so that whilst the shipping had nearly doubled, the pm educe of the tax had fallen nearly one half. 1£ the pressure on the springs of industry lie removed by a Property-tax, this should be repealed; if not, it should be modified.

The daty on Coaches is objectionable in its nature, and not very equal in its operation, while steam-boats remain untaxed. If a Pro- perty-tax be imposed, its abolition should certainly take place ; if not; it perhaps yields too much to the revenue to be repealed as long as more objectionable taxes remain. The Post-horse-tax is similar in its incidence ; but falling upon the rich, may properly enough be retained. The duty on Cards and Dice should be abolished, on account of the trifle which it yields. That on Quack Medicines seems a proper tax enough (if the sale of the article is permitted); and the tax on Plate is a species of verification charge.

TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE AND TRADE.

Newspapers. Supplements, and 4 Papers sold at or under 7d. 4d. with a dis- Papers for Advertisements.. 483,152 count of 20 per cent.; above 7d. 4d. dis-

count 4 per cent.; Papers and Supple. melds for Advertisements, 2d.

172570 3s. 6d. each.

29,059 Is. 3d.

970 3s. per sheet for the edition.

£685,751

1. NEWSPAPERS.

Some change must evidently take place in this item ; * the question is What shall it be—a duty, dr a postage ? We incline to a duty of id., with some trifling discount, say 5 per cent., to cover spoiled stamps.

If the postage be substituted for the duty, we think its tendeney will be to circumscribe intelligence, and that injudiciously. The inhabitants

* This was written Wore the Budget was brought forward. It may, however, still 2feirue.

Advertisements . ............ Al manacks Pamphlets

of Urge towns, who can procure information easier, will be placed (not unfairly, but we conceive impolitically) in a more advantageous posi- tion for receiving knowledge than the scattered inhabitants of remote districts. The workiqg of the plan, too, would involve considerable changes ; there must be a change on the part of the Post-Office, a chance on the part of the trade, a change on the part of the public. If we look at it in a financial point of view, the propriety of the plan is still more questionable. The present number of stamps issued is, in round numbers, thirty millions. The number of papers transmitted through the Post-Office is somewhere about eighteen millions, or not quite two thirds of the whole. If the duty were reduced to Id., and the privilege of transmission by post given to literary journals, pamph- lets, &c. of which the whole impression was stamped, a threefold, and, as regards newspapers, perhaps a twofold increase in the number of stamps, would prevent much alteration of revenue. If a penny post- age, or a graduated rate averaging a penny, were adopted, the increase of circulation must be fivefold, to yield the present rate of revenue, even supposing the ratio of the numbers transmitted were the same— and the tendency would be all the other way. Again, at present great numbers of papers are sent to large towns in parcels by coach : nearly all the Morning Papers are transmitted in 'this manner. If a postage were imposed, this mode of delivery would be still more extensively adopted, and the post be only used in the purely country districts. The conveyance by coach might, indeed, be forbidden by law ; but, not to mention the somewhat arbitrary interference, it would entirely annihilate the first day's country circulation of the Morning Jour- nals. But even if the circulation by post increased in the manner that would be. necessary, it is doubtful whether a considerable por- tion of it would not be swallowed up in the increased expenses of the Post-Office. To give any exact calculation upon this subject, it would be necessary to have a variety of special returns. Some rough estimate may, however, be formed upon the subject. The mis- cellaneous expenses and rent, taxes, &c. of the Twopenny Post-Office, are blended with those of the General Post, but the salaries and riding- work amount to 39,190/. The produce is 103,1341. ; the expense being somewhat more than one third of the receipts this, on a rough esti- mate, would give an average cost of id. for the delivery of each letter. Admitting that the machinery of the General Post is already in exist- ence, we may observe, that very many more clerks and postmen must be employed, and that a more expensive mode of transmission must be adopted, by declining to carry passengers, or at all events so many as are now taken. Neither is the whole expense of the Twopenny Post dis- played; mid, calm-is paribus, the greater distance the greater must be the expense. If we assume id. each to be the average cost of deliver- ing such a vast additional number of packets, the increase beyond the present circulation of journals must be not five but tenfold or twelve- fold. We do not say that this is impossible, but that we think it is highly improbable.

The example of America may be alleged. We answer, we are speaking of England and the Supplies. If a nation be in such a posi- tion with regard to financial matters, that it is not compelled to look closely after the Ways and Means, the profit of the Post- Office may very properly be considered an indifferent matter. In counties like France and America, an artificial stimulus to transmission may be even judicious, if the natural communication is not sufficient filly to employ the existing machinery. In a more enlarged point of view, the plan does not seem to have worked well for American periodical literature. The tendency of the project to localize newspapers—to afford every facility to the establishment of mediocrity, to oppose obstacles to the success of excellence, and, by checking any extensive circulation, and preventing any liberal outlay, to bring:di:lost every joi (mil to a dead —seems to have been fully realized in practice. The inferiority of the American newspapers is not, we suspect, to be attributed to their cheapness, as the Times argues ; for, cwteris paribus, there are English papers as cheap ; but to the practical abolition of competition, the prac- tical check which is given to the extensive circulation of any single journal. It is not the abolition of the stamp, but the existence of the postage, which induces the inferiority complained of.

2. ADVERTISEMENTS.

Amongst our numerous taxes this is perhaps the most objectionable. It is very unequal : a man advertising an estate worth a quarter of a million, pays a considerably less rate of duty upon his notifications than a servant in want of a place. The one advertises once in his life, the other once a year, or perhaps oftener. It has another element of unfair- ness—those who are able to keep their property or their places escape the tax, though they are obviously best able to afford it ; and so far it is a TAX UPON NECESSITY. It is also a Tax UPON KNOWLEDGE, and a very heavy one ; altogether preventing the publication of many works, rendering the success of those which are published very dubious, and falling (according to custom) much heavier upon the cheaper than the dearer books. In works of comparatively limited circulation, it nearly equals the whole profit which remains to be divided between author and publisher after adze copies are sold. Its indirect operation upon litera- ture is perhaps still more mischievous : as a large volume costs no more to advertise than a small, or many volumes than one, by consi- derably increasing the expense of advertising, it gives a direct encou- ragement to the besetting sin of modern writers—" weary, stale, flat, and (to the reader) unprofitable" diffuseness. This absurd duty is, moreover, a TAX UPON INGENUITY AND INVENTION; adding heavily to the difficulties and obstacles which beset the introduction of a new dis- covery, whether it be one which may increase the national wealth or merely administer to individual comfort. It falls heaviest (the old story) upon the cheaper inventions, those which are most likely to be the unassisted discovery of the humble artisan. It is a TAX UPON TRADE ; for it adds 100 per cent. to every common advertisement which informs us where bargains are to be bought, or rarities to be sold, or services to be rendered. It is a TAX UPON THE ARTS, and operates upon them in a somewhat similar way to what it does upon literature. By its tendency to limit every man's power of increasing his customers and extending his business, as well as by its tendency to check mechani- cal invention, and thus diminish the chance of discovering improved processes of production, it may be considered a TAX UPON PRODUC- TION ; and finally, from its manifold evils, it might not unaptly be called a Dory TO FACILITATE A GENERAL DERANGEMENT. With all these mischiefs, its produce, to speak like Lord ALTHORP, is " paltry." A financier worthy of the name would have made its abolition his earliest measure. No time should be lost in effecting its immediate and uncon- ditional repeal. But if the Revenue is to be the plea for its continu- ance, let the duty be reduced to Is., and the Revenue will be rendered more productive. There was, however, no dread last year about the Revenue, when 1,000,0001. of Exchequer Bills were issued to relieve the West Indians, though the public finances were then in a much worse condition than they are now. The following Tables show the extent of the operation of this duty upon Books and Pamphlets. They were originally published in the Edinburgh Review, and were drawn up by Mr. REES, of the firm of LONGMAN. The calculation does not relate to a cheap volume for the instruction of the poor, but to a well-printed work to be sold by retail for twelve shillings per copy.

Estimate of the cost of an octavo volume of 500 pages, printed on respectable paper, to be sold by retail for 12s. a copy; showing what part of this con- sists of taxes.

Total Con. Doty.

OCTAVO VOLUME —500 Copies.

s. d. £ S. d.

Printing and Corrections 88 18 0

38 10 0 8

12.10 P13:11:te.Ciinu

10 0 0 3 3 8 Advertising 40 0 0 20

0 0

£177 8 0 31 16 6 11 Copies to Public Libraries.

14 Copies !,aty) to Author.

475 Copies for Sale at Ss. 5d 14.9 9 1.'7. 1d1.

Deauet Cost 177 8 0

Profit to Author and Publisher, Commission, I Merest on Capital, &c. when all are sold .

£22 9 11 Advertisement-duty 20 0 0

PA mrlit.F.T-500 Collies.

£ s. d.

s. d. s. d.

Printing Extras 14 5 14 5 01 01 19 19 0 •• "

Paper .. ..... .... .................

0 0 1 0 0

Stitching ........ ... .... .

. • ... 0 12 6

Stamp-Office Duty.— ......... ..............

....... 0 15 0 0 15 0 Advertising (say) .

15 0 0 710 0 £42 6 6 9 5 0 25 Copies for Author and Public Libraries. 475 Copies for Sale, 25 for 21. 14s...... £51 6 0 Deduct ...... ..... 42 6 6 Profit to Author. ndPublisher,after all are sold S 19 6 Advertisemeut.duty ............ .......... 7 10 0

3. 4. ALMANACKS. PAMPHLETS.

These duties are proportionally as mischievous in their nature as the Newspaper-ditty; that on Almanacks especially. The amount they yield is too trifling for consideration. How that on Pamphlets (9701.) could have been retained so long, is inexplicable, upon any other con- clusion than a formed determination to throw every obstacle in the way of disseminating knowledge.