Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/341

 Ch. 8. ix miles round, under the direction of the court of aldermen. By tatute 13 & 14 Car. II. c. 2. four hundred were licened; and the money ariing thereby was applied to repairing the treets. This number was increaed to even hundred by tatute 5 W. & M. c. 22. and the duties veted in the crown: and by the tatute 9 Ann. c. 23. and other ubequent tatutes, there are now eight hundred licened coaches and four hundred chairs. This revenue is governed by commiioners of it's own, and is, in truth, a benefit to the ubject; as the expene of it is felt by no individual, and it's neceary regulations have etablihed a competent juridiction, whereby a very refractory race of men may be kept in ome tolerable order.

VIII. eighth and lat branch of the king's extraordinary perpetual revenue is the duty upon offices and penions; coniting in a payment of 1s. in the pound (over and above all other duties) out of all alaries, fees, and perquiites, of offices, and penions payable by the crown. This highly popular taxation was impoed by tatute 31 Geo. II. c. 22. and is under the direction of the commiioners of the land tax.

clear neat produce of thee everal branches of the revenue, after all charges of collecting and management paid, amounts annually to about even millions and three quarters terling; beides two millions and a quarter raied annually, at an average, by the land and malt tax. How thee immene ums are appropriated, is next to be conidered. And this is, firt and principally, to the payment of the interet of the national debt.

order to take a clear and comprehenive view of the nature of this national debt, it mut firt be premied, that after the revolution, when our new connections with Europe introduced a new ytem of foreign politics, the expenes of the nation, not only in ettling the new etablihment, but in maintaining long, Rh