specified in the scheine martes à, annetal to this report.

Whist on this subject, we are a mere, is appears to as of much imperance, that the

with the established limits or the rights and grizueges that may belong to it. The angers in The may, it appears to na, he easily attained thont ang mich mcriñca, if the principal officer of customs, whom it may be necessary individuals selected for the affes if ment to retain at Purt Gasgow, be empowered to rereive duties, and grant coast and other documents in the manner explained in our Tenth Keport, in reference to a recommendation of a xumlar nature as to several of the ports of Ireland.

The retirement of the present collector of Port Glasgow, who, from his age and length of service, appears to have a fair claim to superanmation, offers a favourable opportunity for effecting an arrangement under which some reduction may immediately be made in this establishment.

collector and assistant comptaler sunal receive their appointments directly frem, na give security to the Crawa; and that they should be eligïule for promotion to the max of collectars and comptroters, when fad my quatted Following also the principle of subiozadin laid down in our Tenth Report, we recommend that they should forward the price m received by them to the principal conectar and comptroller under whom they are respectively placed, and through whom they are to correspond with the board, the receipt of such col. lector and comptroller being in that case their discharge. At any port where, from its sita. ation, or other cause, it may be more desirable that the payments should be made direct to the bankers of the revenue, the accounts of the assistant collector and comptroller should be

From Greenock the commission proceeded to Edinburgh, and directed its attention, in the first instance, to the several points relative to the department of the customs in Scotland, which are adverted to in the Sixth Report. The object of that report, it will be remem-subjected to the occasional inspection of the bered, was to submit the result of the inquiries we had made to ascertain and settle the requisite establishment of officers at the out-ports of Scotland, with the salaries by which they should be remunerated; and also to propose certain amendments in the laws and regulations affecting the revenue of customs in that part of the United Kingdom.

As the measures recommended in that report, although they have undergone the consideration of the Central and Local Boards, and been subjected to the examination of those practical officers to whose duties they principally applied, have not been followed by your Lordship's final directions for carrying them into effect, we were the more disposed to consider the expediency of any modifications in our former suggestions.

The most material of these in point of expense is, the addition of 307. per annum to the salaries of the officers who are to discharge the duties of assistant collectors and assistant comptrollers at the subordinate ports.

principal collector and comptroller, and be signed by them at certain fixed periods; and we think in every case, that the payments necessary on account of the minor port should be made through the medium of the principal collector and comptroller, and that they should be responsible for all incidental and other expenses.

It is recommended in our Sixth Report, that the salary of the former class of officers should be 1207, and of the latter 907, per annum. On reviewing the establishment of the out-ports of Ireland, however, we were disposed to think that a salary of 1507, for the assistant collector, and 1207, for the assistant comptroller, was as low as would be consistent with the duties and responsibility of those officers.

It has been represented to us, that the present state of the trade at certain ports in Scotland requires the continuance of some officers, in addition to the number proposed in our former report. Our inquiries having satisfied us that there are sufficient grounds for this representation, we have, in the schedule before referred to, inserted a list of these additional officers, with the salaries which appear to us proper as a remuneration for the duties to be performed, It seems probable, likewise, that an alteration will be requisite in the salaries of certain other officers, with a view to the classification of the salaries at the several out-ports of the United Kingdom, adverted to in our Tenth Report: on this point, however, we shall defer our observations until that classification is before us: in the mean time, we cannot omit to press on your Lordships' attention, the expediency of an im mediate selection of the most efficient collectors and comptrollers at present on the establishment in Scotland, and their appointment to the prin cipal out-ports, as recommended in our Sixth Report; such a change appearing to us of the first importance, with a view to the due col It is material to the principle of an inter- lection of the revenue, and particularly so with change of officers serving in different parts of reference to the transfer of the duties from the the United Kingdom, to which we attach great department of excise, which by your Lordships' importance, that those whose responsibility and direction took place on the 5th of April last. duty are similar, should receive equal emolu. We may in this place remark also, with referments, and it is on this ground that we re-ence to the system of carrying on the business at commend the increase above mentioned to the the out-ports, that in practice it appears to us salaries of the officers at the ports in Scotland, the comptroller confines himself too exchisive!;

messure recommended in our Stech Juport a desirable in a commercial seint if view, a afes. ne omsiderable facilites fie the envii d goods from Gasgow, Pirt Guser, und Erge mek, for experation to the northern parts Diene, mi that, as i recicis the whir ers not, theres not my veĽdanied abneeton ta it. Under these circumstances, we cannot bat express our hope that it will receive your Lordships' sanction.

to the dur af hang the mugo ad parments of the ralertar : nee déves mots, we think, to enerate the ear of a general unit dret spevsim me de suedute dives of the respective para, amé moci z vel ter u tendance as the que exeron of de besness entrusted to them. An aberatim having been recently made in the accounts berenture kept by the comptralers in onsequence of which their labour is moraly émmsted, the present appears a famostratie comeratasy for re- The third point has reference to that part of quiring the perimmance of this extended duty; the revenge of customs in Scotland which is set and, with a view to its more efficient discharge, apart as the hereditary revenge of the crown, we recommend that an accurate yournal should. In the appendix to our Sixth Report we have be kept by these officers, which should be fire-inserted a statement on this subject, which we warded to the board mathly. In this journal received from Mr. Earl, late Chairman of the they should recard every mission of attendance, Board of Customs in Scotland, accompanied by→ or leave of absence granted to the officers under the accounts necessary for its elucidation, and them, the name of every vessel that has arrived have in that Report recommended, “that this or sailed, the semures made, and all other mat ters of importance occurring at their respective perts. This journal to be examined by the collector, who should also affix his signature, with a liberty to insert, for the consideration of the Bourd, the observations or objections which he may have to offer as to any of the statements which it contains. A regulation similar to that which we have here suggested is strictly enforced by the department of the excise, who compel their supervisors to keep a regular record of their transactions in a journal, vouched by the signature of their collectors; and we are satisfied that the superior discipline prevailing in that depart. ment may in a great measure be ascribed to the strict observance of this regulation.

Of the questions of a more general nature observed upon in our Sixth Report, to which we shall now advert, the first is that relating to the practice of re-weighing warehoused goods previously to their removal coastwise, as well as on their arrival at the port of destination. On this subject being again brought before us in Scotland, it appeared that the merchants who desire to remove warehoused goods coastwise, are required to deliver at the port to which this removal is made the quantity originally imported, according to the account then taken by the revenue officers, or to pay duty on any portion deficient ; the removal is therefore entirely at their risk, and unless the merchant wishes a re-weighing, or the officers of the revenue, from the state of the packages or other cause, have reason to suspect fraud, we remain of opinion that the re-weighing should not be insisted on at the port from whence the shipment takes place. The second point relates to the extension to the port of Grangemouth of the privilege of warehousing the principal articles of colonial produce.

In the Appendix will be found some additional evidence, having reference to this subject; and we have only to state, that the result of our reewed inquiries has been a conviction that the

subsidy should by law be consolidated with the other duties of customs, and a fixed per-centage equal to its amount be calculated quarterly at the head office, and be paid separately to the proper officers on account of the here"ditary revenue."

This recommendation was offered with a view of relieving the officers of the department, as well as the merchants, from an inconvenient multiplication of calculations arising from the present mode of collecting this subsidy, involving the necessity of computing two distinct duties on each article.

Since the date of that Report, our attention has been again directed to this subject; and although we are satisfied that the adoption of our former recommendation would be the means of saving a considerable portion of the trouble and labour with which the collection of this revenue is attended, yet our further inquiries have convinced us, that even after that relief shall have been afforded, the accounts required to be kept for this purpose will still be inconveniently numerous and complicated.

We have annexed in the Appendix a statement prepared for us, under Mr. Earl's direction, with great care and accuracy, which exhibits at one view the great variety of articles upon which this charge is collected, and the numerous subdivisions and fractional parts upon which calculations are required to be made.

The act 1 Geo. IV. c. 1, by which this revenue was continued to his present majesty in Scotland, has, with regard to England, granted a fixed sum for the civil list, in lieu of the hereditary revenue of the crown, and the shares of fines and forfeitures to which his majesty would otherwise have been entitled; and no such distinct heads of revenue any longer appear in the accounts of the English customs.

For the sake of uniformity, as well as for the purpose of abolishing altogether the complicated accounts to which we have adverted, and thereby facilitating the means of a reduction in the esta blishment of the customs, it appears to us highly

で

desirable, that the course pursued in England should be extended to Scotland, and that the hereditary revenue in that country should be commuted for a specific sum to be granted for the use of the civil list.

tinued by the acts annually passed for con. tinuing these duties.

The quarantine duty is, in like manner, directed to be kept separate by the 45 Geo. III. c. 10, sec. 7.

The South Sea guarantee fund, by the 55 Geo. III. c. 57, sec. 11.

Without entering into the question as to the propriety of continuing to pay these duties into the Exchequer under distinct heads (an inquiry which will be more properly before us when the English department is under review), it will be obvious to your Lordships, that however necessary the separation may be periodically at the head office, such a proceeding may be altogether avoided in the daily business of the ports.

Although we do not apprehend any objection to this commutation on the ground of a prospective increase in the hereditary revenue of Scotland, it may not be useless to observe, that an answer to any such objection is supplied by the act 1 Geo. IV. c. 1, which has provided, that any surplus of the civil list of that country shall fall into and become part of the Consolidated Fund: under this provision, whatever may eventually be the increase of the revenue, it will ultimately be available only for the general expenditure of the nation. On a full considera- Four times in the year, each collector sends tion of these circumstances, therefore, we are up what is officially denominated a “Quarter prompted to recommend the extension to Scot-"Book," duly signed by the principal officers land of the principle of commutation which has of the port. In this book are entered the been adopted in England, as a measure unob-arvount of the duties received, distinguishing in jectionable with respect to the fund to be affected by the change, and highly desirable as it regards the uniformity and simplification of the customs duties and accounts.

detail the respective articles; and we propose, that in lieu of the existing practice, the local board in Scotland should ascertain from this quarterly account, and certify to the central board, the receipt on sugar, and on the quarantine and South Sea duties; the central board, in like manner, certifying the amount to the Exchequer, where the legal appropriation may be made. This proceeding will enable the accounts of every port to be kept, and the receipts to be remitted under the single head of

On this view of the subject, we have proceeded to take the necessary steps for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the fixed sum which it would be proper to propose as an equivalent for the present income of the crown arising from these sources; and after considering the several accounts and documents in the Appendix, it has appeared to us that this branch of revenue may" Customs Duties ;" and as it will diminish be fairly averaged at the annual sum of £30,000, and we therefore recommend that sum to be paid out of the customs in Scotland to the civil list of that country, in four quarterly payments, in lieu of and as a full compensation for his majesty's hereditary revenue of customs, to be hereafter consolidated with the other duties of customs, and also of his majesty's share of fines and forfeitures, to be hereafter carried to the account of the public income.

The adoption of this suggestion will at once relieve the accounts from one separate head of duty; there will still however remain four others, the receipts of the department being at present divided under five heads; viz. Consolidated Customs. New Subsidy.

Sugar.

Quarantine Duty.

South Sea Guarantee Fund. According to the plan at present pursued, with every remittance to Edinburgh, weekly or otherwise, from each port, it is necessary that a detailed account should be sent of the different heads under which the money is payable: separate books and accounts are kept at the head office also, and details of a similar nature forwarded with every remittance to London.

The sugar duties were directed to be kept separate and apart by the 10th section of the act 59 Geo III. c. 52, and this direction is con

labour both at the ports and at the head office, contributing, at the same time, as every simplification of accounts must do, to a more efficient check over the different accountants, we do not hesitate to recommend it for adoption.

The remaining point to which we shall sepa rately advert, is the Preventive Coast Guard. We are the more induced to offer a few ad. ditional observations on this branch of the ser vice, because the tendency of the remarks which we felt called upon to offer in our former Report have been in a great measure misunderstood by those to whom this part of the Report has been referred.

In stating our objection to this force, as it then existed, and that it was either not adapted, or disproportionate to the objects it was intended to effect, we by no means meant to imply that the executive duties of the local officers were not zealously and diligently performed: it was at that time our opinion, and we have seen no reason to alter it, that the guard was not requi site on the western coast, and that on the eastern coast, as then constituted, and withou proper communication with the cruizers, neither zeal nor diligence could make it effectual

In this view of the subject your Lordships appear to have concurred, by withholding your sanction to the considerable increase of this force which was contemplated at the time of our inspection; and although, since the date of

our Report, this branch of the service and the | dence of Mr. Dean, Mr. Earl, and Mr. Ferrier, revenue cruizers have been placed under the and of the secretary, and the various subordi. same direction, and our objection therefore in nate officers of the department. These exasome degree removed, we still entertain con-minations, and the letter of Mr. Dean, will be siderable doubt, whether, adverting to the found in the Appendix. recent reduction of duty on home-made spirits, and their increasing consumption, any considerable additional expense ought to be incurred in guarding the coasts of Scotland from foreign smuggling. On the nature and extent of this smuggling, we would refer your Lordships to the evidence of Mr. Mae Murdo and Mr. Morri- | our opinion, be consistent with the difference in the Collector and Comptroller of Customs the amount of the customs revenue respectively

son,

In our remarks on the documents and evi, dence we have received, we shall follow the arrangement of offices, and refer to the establishments we have recommended in our Seventh Report for Dublin, with a view to an assimilation between the two countries, as far as may, in

The offices which come under this description

16. Office Keepers and Messengers.

£3,400

A proposal for reducing the number of clerks from ten to eight, and for continuing the sala ries at the present rate, has, we are informed, received your Lordships' sanction.

The proposal for eight clerks in the secre tary's office in Scotland, whilst twelve are proposed for Ireland, appears to us to have a just reference to the amount of the revenue in the two countries, the gross revenue of customs for the year 1824 having been in Scotland 953,837,

ever, the same relative difference in the salaries suggested, and we should be disposed to recommend a material reduction, were it not that the due discharge of all the functions of the board so materially depends on the proper execution of the duties in the secretary's office, as to render the employment of intelligent and respectable individuals highly important, and a liberal reward therefore necessary.

In entering upon the details of these several | and in Ireland 1,847,6308. There is not, how affices, we must, in justice to the Local Board, state, that they appear to have looked at the different establishments with an anxious desire to suggest every reduction that the consolidation of the boards rendered practicable; and as their proposals for this purpose have been attentively reviewed by Mr. Dean, the Chairman of the Central Board, of whose observations and evidence we were enabled to avail ourselves, from his being at that time in Edinburgh, we have The salary of the first or chief clerk is pronot felt it necessary specially to employ any posed to be 5501.; our recommendation for Ireofficers to enter minutely into the mode of con- land is only 450l. On reviewing the latter, ducting the business in the different depart- however, and considering that, as the office of ments, according to the plan pursued in Ire-assistant secretary has been abolished, the chief land, but have satisfied ourselves with the evi- clerk will be required, on the illness or other