CONSOLIDATION ACT (1787): CUSTOMS AND EXCISE REFORM. An Act for repealing the several Duties of Customs and Excise, and granting other Duties in lieu thereof, and for applying the said Duties, together with the other Duties composing the Publick Revenue; for permitting the Importation of certain Goods, Wares, and Merchandize, the Produce or Manufacture of the European Dominions of the French King, into this Kingdom; and for applying certain unclaimed Monies, remaining in the Exchequer for the Payment of Annuities on Lives, to the Reduction of the National Debt.

TAXATION & DUTIES. Great Britain. Parliament.

Published by London: Charles Eyre and Andrew Strahan, 1787

About this Item

Folio (12.5 inches). 27 George III, Chapter 13. General title leaf + pages 311-524. Woodcut Royal coat of arms, pictorial headband, and decorative initial. Text in Black Letter. Neatly extracted from a bound volume and mended. A very comprehensive and unusually thick Act of Parliament. Prior to 1784 there existed nearly a hundred separate accounts to accommodate the various customs and duties, each of which was broken down into endless numbers of subdivisions. Under the circumstances, it was virtually impossible, even for the most experienced merchants, to tell the exact amount of duty affecting any particular article, or the course to be followed for vessels either entering or clearing customs. It was left entirely to the clerks of the customs house to interpret the ever-changing legislation, determine the amounts of duties owing, and to oversee proper procedure in order to avoid forfeiture of goods and / or ships. By the mid-1780s British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger began to concern himself with the large national debt that had grown as a result of the American Revolution, and sought to eliminate the debt by imposing new taxes, streamlining procedures, and reducing smuggling and fraud. In 1787, Pitt introduced and carried his famous measure for consolidating customs and duties: the Consolidation Act abolished all the existing customs and duties and substituted in their place single duties on individual articles. The Act lists in detail about 1200 articles subject to duty inwards, 50 articles rated for duty on exportation, and goods that attracted duties when carried coastwise within Great Britain. A more uniform plan was also introduced for transacting business at the custom houses. Upwards of 3000 resolutions were required to carry the Consolidation Act through Parliament, and the measure finally put an end to much of the previous financial confusion by directing all money collected into one fund called the Consolidated Fund. The Act revolutionized Britains handling of customs and excise in keeping with recommendations set out by Adam Smith in his famous 1776 book The Wealth of Nations. The Consolidation Act, 1787 is also known to have influenced financial advisors and leaders of the newly-formed United States of America in their approach to the handling of public finances, wherein they observed and admired the more systematic approach to custom and excise collection and the wisdom of directing portions of the money collected towards payment of the national debt.

Seller Inventory # 181

Bibliographic Details

• Title: CONSOLIDATION ACT (1787): CUSTOMS AND EXCISE REFORM. An Act for repealing the several Duties of Customs and Excise, and granting other Duties in lieu thereof, and for applying the said Duties, together with the other Duties composing the Publick Revenue; for permitting the Importation of certain Goods, Wares, and Merchandize, the Produce or Manufacture of the European Dominions of the French King, into this Kingdom; and for applying certain unclaimed Monies, remaining in the Exchequer for the ...
• Publisher: London: Charles Eyre and Andrew Strahan
• Publication Date: 1787
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • BANKING & COMMERCE
  • GREAT BRITAIN Taxation & Duties