a

Confent of the Mortgagees; and if there is impoffible; for, if by increafing
is now any Doubt of their being the Price, the Purchase of a large
willing to accept of another Fund
Dofe of Spirituous Liquors is put out
for fecuring the Money they have of the Power of a poor Man, let his
Inclinations be never fo ftrong, let
promised to lend upon this, is there
not much more Reafon to doubt of the Temptations be what they will,
their being willing, after they have A he cannot comply with them: He
been a Year in Poffeffion of it? muft content himself with what is
Therefore, if we pass this Bill, it neceffary, perhaps he may fometimes
may be impoffible for us next Year launch out into a little Luxury, but
he will feldom or never be able to
to do any Thing for leffening the
Confumption of Spirituous Liquors, launch out into a vicious Ufe of fuch
without being guilty of an Act of Liquors; for in them, as in all Sorts
Violence to the Creditors of the B of ftrong Liquors, there is a necef-
Publick; for they may very justly fary, a luxurious, and a vicious Ufe.
fay, you fhall not lay any higher A fmall Dram of Spirituous Liquors
may fometimes be neceffary, in a
Duty upon the Still-head, because it
will diminish the Confumption, and very cold Day, or when a Man is
confequently the Number of Retailers, become faint with hard Labour; and
which muft of courfe leffen the yearly it would be cruel to raise the Price
Produce of the Sum mortgaged for C of them fo high as to put even this
our Security.
Ufe out of the Reach of the Poor.
When a Man takes a larger Dram
than is neceffary, or oftner than is
neceffary, but never fo much at a
Time as to make himself drunk, it
is a luxurious Ufe, and Luxury ought
to be taxed in the Poor as well as
the Rich. And when a Man drinks
fo much of thefe Liquors at a Time
as to make himfelf drunk, or fo often
as to impair his Health, this is a vi-
cious Ufe which ought to be prohi-
bited and punished, but it ought to
E be prohibited in fuch a Manner as
not to put it out of Peoples Power
to have the neceffary Ufe, or even a
little of the luxurious Ufe of fuch
Liquors upon fome Occafions; for it
would be hard to make it impoffible
for poor Men ever to rejoice or be
merry.

I hope, I have now fhewn, that
this Bill, as it ftands at prefent, muft
certainly do Harm: That there is no
Neceffity for our paffing it without
Amendment; and that if we do, we
fhall render it very difficult, if not D
impoffible, to put a Stop to the ex-
ceffive Ufe of Spirituous Liquors,
even tho' it fhould arife to a much
greater Height than it is at now.
Thefe, I hope, will be thought fuf-
ficient Reafons for my being against
the Bill in its prefent Form; but as
it may
be amended fo as to produce
a very good Effect, I fhall, there-
fore, be for the Question now under
your Confideration.

Cn. Domitius Calvinus, in the Cha-
racter of the Duke of Newcastle, F
Spoke next in Substance as follows,

Thus your Lordships muft fee, that if by the additional Duties, the Price of thefe Liquors be raised fo high as to put the vicious Use of them out of the Reach of the Poor, the Temptations which it is faid will be introGduced by this Bill, can occafion no Increase in the Confumption, were they much more powerful than they can be fuppofed to be. For my

Part,

Part, I do not think, they will have
any Effect: The Word Gin, or any
other Name the Vulgar please to give
it, for, I am told, they have given
it a great many, tho' wrote in capi-
tal Letters upon a Cafk or Sign-poft,
will never invite any Man to drink A
fo much as one Dram, unless he has
a natural Inclination; and if he has
a natural Inclination, and Money in
his Pocket, he will now eafily find
where it is to be fold; he may now,
I believe, find it out in any Street or
Village, even where he is an utter B
Stranger; for moft of thofe little
Shops that now fell it defpife Infor-
mations, because they have nothing
to lofe, and are fenfible, that no
Man will become an Informer, when
he is fure he can get nothing but
Contempt by his Information.

are such a Number of Mafters, that they can enter into no Sort of Combination, every one underfels the other, in order to ingrofs the more of the Trade to himfelf, till by this Competition they are all forced to fell at as low a Price as the Manufacture can admit of. To this I fhall add another general Observation, that every Dealer muft fell at fuch a Pro-fit, as will not only afford him a reafonable Intereft for his Money employed in that Way, but also a reafonable Infurance for the Rifk he runs, by fome of his Cuftomers becoming infolvent.

These two Obfervations being premifed, my Lords, I fhall fuppofe, that a Diftiller has 6d. Profit upon every Gallon of thofe Liquors he Cfells for 18d. per Gallon, and that this is the leaft any Diftiller can af. ford to fell it for, allowing him a reasonable Intereft for the Shilling it cofts him, and a reasonable Insurance for the Rifk he runs of lofing that Shilling by the Infolvency of his D Cuftomer; for confidering the low People Distillers deal with, this Risk muft certainly be very great. But after this Bill is paffed, we muft confider, that every Gallon of the fame Sort of Liquor will coft the Distiller 18d. and that he now risks 18d. whereas he before rifked but a Shilling; therefore he muft now fell at a Profit higher than what he did before in Proportion, that is to fay, as he had before 6d. Profit upon a Shilling Advance, he muft now have gd. Profit, because he advances 18d. and confequently muft now fell for 25. and 3d. what he before fold for 18d.

As we find it impoffible to prevent this private Retail, there is no Method for preventing Peoples complying with their Inclinations, but by raifing the Price fo as to put the frequent Purchafe, or the Purchase of a large Quantity, out of their Reach; and this will, in fome Measure, be the Effect of this Bill. A noble Lord has already demonftrated, that it will raise all Spirituous Liquors, at leaft a Penny in a Pound, above what they are now fold for; but, in my Opinion, he has ftated the advanced E Price too low, and I fhall beg Leave to give your Lordships my Reasons for thinking fo. I muft join with him in fuppofing, that all Spirituous Liquors, efpecially that Liquor called Gin, are now fold as cheap, both by the Distiller and Retailer, as they F can poffibly afford to fell them; for tho' there be a Mystery in the Trade of Diftilling, and tho it requires a very large Stock to begin with, yet there are now, and have been for many Years, fuch Numbers of People in that Way of Business, that we G muft fuppofe, they all fell now as cheap as they can; because in every Sort of Manufacture, where there

The Cafe will be the fame, my Lords, with regard to the Retailer, for his Profit muft likewife be increafed in Proportion to his Advance. To illuftrate this, I fhall fuppose, that he now fells for half a Crown by Retail, a Gallon of thofe Spirits, for which he pays but 184. to the Diftiller; for as his Rifk is greater,

and

his Spirits weaker, I fhall not fay worfe, because the weaker they are, 1 think, they will be the better; and both the Diftiller and Retailer will advance their Price by flow Degrees, tho' they fuffer in the mean A Time: Nay, both will continue to fell at a little lefs Profit, in Proportion, than they do at this Time; but they cannot continue long to fell åt a great deal lefs, because they would be ruined if they did; therefore, their chief Art, I believe, will be to lower the Quality or the Spirit, and, confequently, it will not be of fuch mischievous Confequence, either to the Health or the Morals of the People.

B

and as he must maintain his Family
by his retail Trade, his Profits must
be larger than the Distiller's in Pro-
portion. Now after this Bill is paff-
ed, he muft pay, as I have fhewn,
to the Difliller 25. 3d. for what coft
him before but 184. De your Lord
hips think, he will add to his retail
Price no more than the additional
9. he pays to the Ditiller, and,
confequently, fell at 35 per Gallon
by Retail? No, my Lords, he will
expect, and willl take a Profit in Pro-
portion to his Advance, at the fame
Rate as formerly, and, confequently,
mut have 45d. for what he before
fold for half a Crown. But this is
not all: As he is now to pay 205.
yearly for a Licence, he will expect
2 proportionable Profit upon that too,
and will, upon that Account, make
an Addition to his retail Price, to
the Amount, I believe, of at least
3. a Gallon; for as he will, I fay,
expect a proportionable Profit upon
what he pays for a Licence, he must
make at least 333. and 4d. a Year
by this additional Advance in his re D
tai! Price, and at 3d. a Gallon muft
fell very near three Pints a Day, in
order thereby to raise 335. 44. in a
Year; fo that, according to this Cal-
calation, the Spirits which are now
fold by Retail for half a Crown a
Gallon, will, after this Bill is paffed,
be fold for 45.

C

E

F

Thefe Calculations I make, my Lords, from the known Practice and Courfe of Trade; and from hence you may fee the Reafon why, when you hy a Tax upon any Commocity, the Dealers muft lay a great deal more, fo that the advanced Price pid by the Confumer, will always be more than double the Tax you impole. But I fhall not fay, that the advanced Price upon Gin to be occafioned by this Bill, will rife quite fo high as I have calculated. Both G the Diftiller and Retailer will ufe all the Arts they can, to prevent the Contumers from being fenfible of the Advance. The Diffiller will make

However, my Lords, notwithstand. ing all the Arts they can ufe, notwithstanding their lowering the Quality of the Liquor, they muft foon come to fell dearer; becaufe, if they should lower it too much, the Confumers would become fenfible of it, and might perhaps entirely give aver the Ule of it. I therefore think it demonftrable, that this Bill must raife the Price, which must necessarily diminish the vicious Ufe of these Liquors among the Poor: Whether this Advance in the Price will quite abolish this Vice, at least among the Poor, is what we are to try by this Experiment: If it does not, we may next Year add 6d. more; but we fhould not do it at once, because, as there is a neceflary, as well as a vicious Ufe of Spirituous Liquors, we fhould load the neceflary Ufe no farther than we find, by Experience, to be abfolutely requifite for preventing the vicious Ufe of thofe Liquors, among our poor Labourers and Manufacturers.

Claudius Marcellus, in the Character of the Earl of Sandwich, pake next to this Effect.

when rightly understood, is in Fa-
vour of the Motion, and yet he de-
figned it, I believe, against the Mo-
tion, because he feems to be an Ad-
vocate for the Bill. It has been af-
ferted by feveral Lords who have
fpoke against the Bill, that it will A
not raife the Price of Spirituous Li-
quors to the Confumer, and they
have given ftrong Reafons for what
they allert: On the other hand, the
noble Duke afferts, that it will raise
the Price very confiderably to the
Confumer; and has given us fome B
very ingenious Calculations to prove
his Affertion. Is not this Contra-
riety of Opinions, the ftrongest Aṛ-
gument that can be made ufe of in
Favour of the Motion? For, furely,
the Distillers and Retailers are better
Judges of this Fact than any of your C
Lordships can be. Let us therefore
agree to the Motion, that we may
have an Opportunity to examine fome
Diftillers and Retailers, or at least
fome of them who have already made
Eftates and given over the Trade. If
I were a Friend to this Bill, and D
were convinced of the Truth of what
the noble Duke afferts, I am fure, I
fhould be a hearty Friend to this
Motion, because I should from thence
expect, that all Cavilling or Oppo-
fition to my favourite Bill would be
at an End; and therefore, if I were
not very well convinced of the no-
ble Duke's Candour, and of the
Candour of every Lord who has
made ufe of the fame Argument, I
should fufpect, from their Oppofition
to this Motion, that upon this To-
pick they spoke against Self-convic.

tion.

I fhall not repeat what has already been urged by other Lords, for proving, that this Bill will not raife the Price to Confumers, but only leffen the Profits of the Diftiller, and Retailer; but in Anfwer to the noble Duke's Calculations, I must defire him to recollect what has been already faid, that the Liquor called

E

Gin is not a Neceffary, but a Lux

ury

of Life; for when a Dram of any Spirituous Liquor happens to be abfolutely neceffary, which, I believe, is feldom, if ever, the Cafe, even the poorest Perfon may get one fingle Dram of Brandy or Rum: If he fhould have no Money to pay for it, nor Credit for three Half-pence, fome good-natur'd Perfon would let him have it out of Charity; therefore, Gin can in no Cafe be faid to be a Neceffary of Life; and this the Diftillers and Retailers both very well know. If it were a Neceffary of Life: If it were a Commodity which few or none could be without, his Grace's Calculations might hold pretty juft; for in fuch Things, the Dealers are always ready to take Advantage of any Pretence for raifing the Price of the Commodities they deal in; but with regard to the Luxuries of Life, efpecially those the Poor only riot in, they must be cheap as well as agreeable, otherwise the Poor mult give over their Rioting; and therefore, if you lay a Tax upon them, the Dealers muft either content themselves with a lefs Profit, or give over the Trade, and the former they will always chufe rather than the latter: They will never give over the Trade, unles you lay fuch a Tax as amounts very near to a Prohibition.

Now I am up, my Lords, I must take Notice of one Argument in favour of this Bill, which has not been, I think, fully anfwered.. It has been faid, that the prefent Prohibition is of no Manner of Signification: That Retailers reckon it of no Value, becaufe Gin is now fold as cheap by Retail, as it ever was before the Prohibition. It may perhaps be now fold as cheap by Retail as ever it was before; but this is no Proof that ReG tailers put no Value upon the prefent Prohibition, or upon the Rifk they are thereby expofed to. It is only à Proof of what Diftillers and Retailers

of

of Gin will do, rather than risk lofing their Trade, or difcouraging the Confumption, by raifing the Price. This is therefore a full Confutation of all the Calculations the noble Duke was pleased to make, and, I think, an evident Proof, that the Price will not A be raised to Confumers by this Bill; for furely the Rifk of lofing an Hundred Pounds, or even of going to the Correction-Houfe, for every Dram a Man fells, is worth more than 6d. a Gallon, and zos. a Year for a Licence; becaufe, tho' there has B been of late a Sort of Sufpenfion of this penal Law, yet no Man could know when the Execution of it would be refumed; and when he thought himself moft fecure, the Commiffioners might be, for what he knew, employing People to watch and in- C form against him. But the Truth, 1 believe, is, when this Prohibition first took Place, the Distillers all lowered their Prices to the Retailers, in order to encourage them to run the Risk of Retailing without raifing the Price. This I fhall not affert, but it D is a Fact we ought to inquire into; because, if the Distillers then lowered the Price to Retailers, above 6d. a Gallon, all Sorts of home-made Spirits will be fold cheaper to the Confumer after this Bill is paffed, than ever they were before; which is a new Argument for the prefent Motion, and upon Inquiry, may come out to be a moft unanswerable Argument against the Bill.

E

The noble Duke was in the right, to pafs over fo curforily the many Temptations that will be introduced by this Bill; for the Introduction of fuch Temptations is a moft pernicious Thing in any Society. "Tis true, when a poor Man has neither Money nor Credit, he cannot comply with the Temptation, let it be never fo ftrong; but no poor Man can be re- G duced to this wretched State, without having been led away by many former Temptations of the fame Kind;

and fuch a fmall Sum of Money, or fuch a fmall Fund of Credit, will enable a Man to comply with the firft Temptations, that, without reflecting, he is led into a Habit which prevents his being able to refift any future Temptation, as long as he has a Halfpenny, or Credit for a Halfpenny in the World. Nay, when this Habit prevents his getting any Money in an honeft Way, it puts him upon thieving, house-breaking, or robbing, in order to get Money for fatisfying its continual Cravings. How pernicious then muft it be, to let loofe 50,000 Tempters, and confequently Devils, upon the poor People of this Nation? For every Man who takes out a Licence, unless he be a Man of more Probity than usual in this Age, will endeavour to tempt his Neighbours, and every Man that comes into his Houfe, to drink Spirituous Liquors to Excefs. At pre fent, tho' we have many Retailers of Spirituous Liquors, yet they are in a continual Fear, which keeps them under a Reftraint: They dare not provoke Men to an Excefs in fuch Liquors, left Refentment, and the Qualms they feel next Day, fhould induce fome of them to become Informers; but give thefe Retailers once a Licence, they will then tempt by Authority, and without Fear; Their Invention will be always upon the Rack, in order to draw Cultomers to their Houfe, and to lead those Customers into Excefs; fo that we shall for the future have always two Armies in the Field, and both maintained at the Expence of the People: One to fight against the Devil, and the other to fight under his Banner: The former I fhall always have a due Reverence for, the latter I fhall heartily abhor; but, I do not think, you will do Juftice to the former, if you allow the latter to become too numerous; and therefore, if you pass this Bill, I hope, you will add a Claufe, for reftraining the

C 2

Num