Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/334

 318 that duty which he pays at the cutom-houe, as to a profit upon the original price which he pays to the manufacturer abroad; and coniders it accordingly in the price he demands of the tationer. When the tationer ells it again, he requires a profit of the printer or bookeller upon the whole um advanced by him to the merchant: and the bookeller does not forget to charge the full proportion to the tudent or ultimate conumer; who therefore does not only pay the original duty, but the profits of thee three intermediate traders, who have ucceively advanced it for him. This might be carried much farther in any mechanical, or more complicated, branch of trade.

II. oppoite in it's nature to this is the excie duty; which is an inland impoition, paid ometimes upon the conumption of the commodity, or frequently upon the retail ale, which is the lat tage before the conumption. This is doubtles, impartially peaking, the mot oeconomical way of taxing the ubject: the charges of levying, collecting, and managing the excie duties being coniderably les in proportion, than in other branches of the revenue. It alo renders the commodity cheaper to the conumer, than charging it with cutoms to the ame amount would do; for the reaon jut now given, becaue generally paid in a much later tage of it. But, at the ame time, the rigour and arbitrary proceedings of excie-laws eem hardly compatible with the temper of a free nation. For the frauds that might be committed in this branch of the revenue, unles a trict watch is kept, make it neceary, wherever it is etablihed, to give the officers a power of entring and earching the houes of uch as deal in exciable commodities, at any hour of the day, and, in many caes, of the night likewie. And the proceedings in cae of trangreions are o ummary and udden, that a man may be convicted in two days time in the penalty of many thouand pounds by two commiioners or jutices of the peace; to the total excluion of the trial by jury, and diregard of the common law. For which reaon, though lord Clarendon Rh