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for offences, and formerly deodands, or whatever personal chattel is the immediate cause of the death of any reasonable creature, are also the property of the King. But by the 9 & 10 Vict. c. 62, deodands are abolished, and there is to be no forfeiture of any chattel in respect to its having moved to or caused any death.

Escheats.]-Escheats of lands which happen upon the defect of heirs to succeed to the inheritance form also parts of the King's ordinary revenue (7).

Idiots and lunatics.]-The custody of idiots and lunatics was formerly a profitable source of revenue. The custody of an idiot and his lands is given to the King, both by the common law, as the general conservator of his people, and by the statute 17 Edw. 2, c. 9, in order to prevent the idiot from wasting his estate, and reducing himself and heirs to poverty and distress. The statute directs that the King shall have ward of the lands of natural fools, taking the profits without waste or destruction, and shall find them necessaries; and after the death of such idiots, he shall render the estate to the heirs. The King is also the guardian of lunatics, as well as idiots, but to a very different purpose. For the law always imagines that the misfortune of lunacy may be removed, and, therefore, only constitutes the Crown a trustee to protect their property, and account to them for all profits received, if they recover, or after their decease to their representatives (m).

But these revenues, which constituted the proper patrimony of the Crown, being got into the hands of private subjects, it became necessary that private contributions should supply the public service; and these latter contributions or Parliamentary grants, which have in former times been called by the names

of aids, subsidies, and supplies, and now are known under the denomination of taxes, form the extraordinary revenues of the Crown, and consist in:— 1, The land tax; 2, The customs; 3, The excise duties; 4, The postage of letters; 5, The stamp duties; 6, The duty on offices and pensions; 7, The assessed taxes; 8, The income tax.

Land tax.]-The land tax, in its modern shape, has superseded the ancient mode of rating property by tenths, fifteenths, subsidies, hydages, scutages, or talliages. By the 38 Geo. 3, c. 60, the land tax was converted into a perpetual tax, and fixed at four shillings in the pound, but made subject, on the other hand, to redemption by the landholder. The tenant of the land is also, by 38 Geo. 3, c. 5, s. 17, liable to a distress in the event of this tax remaining in arrear; but is, by the same act, entitled to deduct the amount which he has paid for it (unless he has expressly agreed to pay all the taxes) out of the first sum that shall become due for rent; the tax being, as between landlord and tenant (generally considered), a charge upon the former. The land tax, however, is, properly speaking, a tax neither on landlord or tenant, but on the beneficial proprietor, as distinguished from the mere tenant at rack rent; and if the tenant has to any extent a beneficial interest, he becomes liable to the tax pro tanto, and can only charge the residue on his landlord (n).

Customs.]-The customs are perpetual taxes payable upon merchandise exported and imported: in the year 1787 was passed the 27th Geo. 3, c. 13, called the Customs Consolidation Act, by which the amount of duties and the articles on which they should be levied were defined. The law of customs, thus simplified and consolidated, has since received

various other improvements by successive acts of Parliament passed from time to time for the purpose, and the whole was in the last reign reduced into several statutes repealing all former provisions, and forming a new code upon the subject. But to this many additions have now been recently made, particularly by the 5 & 6 Vict. c. 47, the 8 Vict. c. 7, and 9 & 10 Vict. cc. 22, 23, 63, which have abolished the greater part of the duties, and introduced a near approximation to free trade in foreign productions (o).

Excise.] The excise duty is an inland imposition, paid sometimes upon the consumption of the commodity, and frequently upon the retail sale. Among the articles subject to excise are malt, spirits, soap, glass, paper, bricks, hops, sugar, and vinegar. It comprises besides the duty on lands. and goods sold by auction (p).

Post-office.]-The Post-office revenue arises from the carriage of all letters, which by several statutes is confined exclusively to the Crown. By the 3 & 4 Vict. c. 96, the rate of postage was reduced to a very low amount, and was made uniform so far as relates to inland letters. By that act the privilege exercised by members of Parliament, of franking, or sending and receiving letters free of duty, was abolished (q).

Stamp Duties.-The stamp duties arise from taxes imposed upon all parchment and paper whereon any legal proceedings, or private instruments of almost any nature, are written; and also upon licences, hackney carriages, stage carriages, or to trade as bankers or pedlars; upon all newspapers, advertisements, cards, dice. These imposts

vary in amount according to the nature of the instrument stamped (r.)

Offices and Pensions.]-Another branch of the King's extraordinary revenue is the duty imposed by 31 Geo. 2, c. 22, on offices and pensions; consisting in the payment (over and above all other duties), out of all salaries, fees, and perquisites of offices and pensions payable by the Crown.

Assessed taxes.]-Another branch of the revenue consists of the assessed taxes, or duties assessed and charged upon persons in respect of articles in their use or keeping. The duties now comprised under this branch of taxation, are those on windows, servants, carriages, horses, dogs, hair powder, armorial bearings, and game certificates (s).

Property and income tax.]-Another branch of revenue is the tax on property and income, which though purporting to be a temporary expedient, is likely to become a permanent burthen. The statute originating it (5 and 6 Vict. c. 35) was limited to a period of three years. It imposed a charge of seven pence in the pound on (1) all lands, tenements, and hereditaments; (2) on all annuities, dividends, and shares of annuities payable to any person, corporation, or company; (3) the annual profits or gains arising from any kind of property whatever, and wherever situate, and upon the annual profits and gains arising or accruing to any person from any profession, trade, employment, or vocation; (4) upon any public office or employment of profit, and upon every annuity, pension, or stipend payable by her Majesty out of the public revenue, except annuities before charged. By the 8 & 9 Vict. c. 4, the rates and duties granted by the 5 &

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6 Vict. c. 35, were continued until the 5th April, 1848, and they have been further continued by an act of the 12 of Victoria (t).

The taxes above enumerated (which, with other trifling ones, form the Consolidated Fund) are levied to discharge the expenses which are annually incurred by the Government, in respect of the public service; and a very large proportion of these expenses consists in payments made on account of the interest of the national debt. This debt is in part funded and in part unfunded. The unfunded debt is very small, and is generally secured by Exchequer Bills. The funded debt is nearly £800,000,000, and is an annual charge of about £29,000,000.

The form of the security held by public creditors, in respect of the funded debt, is that of annuities, mostly perpetual, upon which interest at a certain rate is paid. These annuities are denominated the public funds. They are transferable by the holder, and are otherwise considered as personal property.

The Consolidated Fund is also charged with the payment of the civil list and the salaries of the judges and ambassadors, and other high official persons. The civil list is an annual sum granted by Parliament at the commencement of each reign for the expense of the royal household and establishment, and is made in consideration of the assignment of its proper patrimony to the public use, by which the nation is said to be a great gainer. The present civil list is fixed at £385,000 per annum, out of which the sum of £60,000 is assigned for her Majesty's privy purse (u).