Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/304

 288 ceary to end purveyors beforehand, to get together a ufficient quantity of proviions and other necearies for the houhold: and, let the unuual demand hould raie them to an exorbitant price, the powers before-mentioned were veted in thee purveyors: who in proces of time very greatly abued their authority, and became a great oppreion to the ubject though of little advantage to the crown; ready money in open market (when the royal reidence was more permanent, and pecie began to be plenty) being found upon experience to be the bet proveditor of any. Wherefore by degrees the powers of purveyance have declined, in foreign countries as well as our own; and particularly were abolihed in Sweden by Gutavus Adolphus, towards the beginning of the lat century. And, with us in England, having fallen into diue during the upenion of monarchy, king Charles at his retoration conented, by the ame tatute, to reign intirely thee branches of his revenue and power: and the parliament, in part of recompene, ettled on him, his heirs, and ucceors, for ever, the hereditary excie of fifteen pence per barrel on all beer and ale old in the kingdom, and a proportionable um for certain other liquors. So that this hereditary excie, the nature of which hall be farther explained in the ubequent part of this chapter, now forms the ixth branch of his majety's ordinary revenue.

VII. A branch might alo be computed to have arien from wine licences; or the rents payble to the crown by uch perons as are licened to ell wine by retale throughout England, except in a few privileged places. Thee were firt ettled on the crown by the tatute 12 Car. II. c. 25. and, together with the hereditary excie, made up the equivalent in value for the los utained by the prerogative in the abolition of the military tenures, and the right of pre-emption and purveyance: but this revenue was abolihed by the tatute 30 Geo. II. c. 19. and an annual um of upwards of 7000𝑙. per annum, iuing out of the new tamp duties impoed on wine licences, was ettled on the crown in it's tead. Rh