50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57. These acts no doubt effected great improvements in the management of the Customs, but cap. 56 enumerated no fewer than 1150 different rates of duty chargeable on imported ar ticles, all other articles paying duty as unenumerated." In 1840 Mr. Porter, of the Board of Trade, in his evidence before the Parliamentary committee on import duties, showed that out of a total amount of 22,962,6101. of Customs-duties received in 1839, In 1842 Sir Robert Peel effected some improvements in this system, which were carried into effect by 5 & 6 Vict. c. 47. This act reduced the duty on about 750 different articles on which the receipts had amounted to about 270,0001. The general principle of the measure was to reduce the duty on raw materials to about 5 per cent, to limit the highest duty on partially manufactured materials to 12 per cent., and on complete manufactures to about 20 per cent. The number of articles in the tariff was now reduced to 813. Foreign horned cattle, sheep, goats, swine, salmon, soles, and other fish, and fresh beef and pork, which had been pro hibited formerly, were admitted on pay ing a duty under the tariff of 1842. In 1844 the duty on foreign wool was abo lished. In 1845 Sir Robert Peel effected further improvements in the tariff by abolishing the duty on cotton wool (about 680,0001.) and on 430 other articles, on which the duty amounted to 320,0001. By this plan expenses of warehousing are saved [WAREHOUSING SyrrEs[], and a number of troublesome accounts and impediments to business are got rid of; but for statistical purposes the Cus toms department retains the power of examining articles which do not pay gross receipt of 2,358,5431. for Ireland the charges of collection were 215,2231., or 91. 2a. 6d. per sent., or nearly double the per centage for Great Britain. The great beads of expenditure of the Cus toms establishment are-797,9101. civil
department ; preventive water- guard, 345,226/. ; cruisers, 97,4011.; land-guard 19,0581. The sum of 797,9101. for the civil department consists of 429,1471. sa laries and allowances; 128,2011., day-pay; 121,0171., superannuation allowances ; 16,7111. for compensation and allowances for offices and fees abolished ; 17,789/. law charges ; special services and tra velling charges, 19,208/, besides some other heads under which the disburse ments were of smaller amount. Besides the actual charges of collection, the Cus toms revenue is charged with the follow ing payments : — Quarantine and ware housing establishments, &c., 148,0701. ; payments in support of the civil govern ment of Scotland, 108,640/. ; compensation to naval officers in the coast-guard, &c., and to officers of the late tax-department in Ireland, 44,139/. ; payments on account of the difference of Trinity light and pilotage dues between British and foreign vessels, and on account of compensation to the South Sea Guarantee Fund, 14,2201.; and some other sums, making a total of 315,6241.
The management of the revenue of Customs is committed to a board of nine commissioners, acting as a subordinate department of the Treasury. The com missioners receive a salary of 12001.: the chairman receives 8001. in addition, and the deputy-chairman 5001. In 1845 two of the commissioners were young men of twenty-six years of age. The total number of persons in the Customs establishment of the port of London in 1844 was 1881, and the total expense thereof was 259,6321.
Nearly one-half of the Customs revenue of the United Kingdom is collected in the port of London, and about one-fifth of the whole in the port of Liverpool. In 1843 the amounts collected at five prin cipal ports was as under :— Bristol . . . £996,750 Dublin . . . 977,890 Hull . . . . 525,418