REASONS
Against
further
Additional
Duties
upon
PAPER
:
Shewing
,
That
such
a
Tax
will
lessen
the
Publick
Revenue
,
and
not
improve
the
Manufacture
of
the
Nation
,
but
will
only
tend
to
the
Advantage
of
some
of
the
Petitioners
.
Humbly
offered
to
the
Consideration
of
the
Honourable
HOUSE
of
COMMONS
.
THERE
having
been
presented
to
this
Honourable
House
a
Petition
in
the
Name
of
the
Principal
●aper-Makers
,
in
England
,
praying
,
That
the
Duties
on
Forein
Paper
be
increased
:
falsly
insinuating
that
the
present
Duties
on
Forein
Paper
(
French
excepted
)
are
very
inconsiderable
:
I.
The
Truth
and
Fact
concerning
the
Duties
on
Paper
stand
thus
:
The
present
Duties
are
Treble
what
they
were
before
the
late
War
,
no
Paper
being
now
imported
that
pays
less
Duty
than
Fifteen
per Cent
.
and
the
Charges
attending
the
Importation
are
not
less
than
Ten
per Cent
.
more
,
(
besides
,
at
this
time
,
by
Reason
of
the
Continuance
of
the
High
Duties
on
the
Trade
with
France
,
Paper
is
raised
above
Ten
per Cent
.
every
where
abroad
:
)
So
that
English
Paper
has
had
for
these
Thirteen
Years
past
the
Advantage
of
Twenty
Five
per Cent
.
of
Forein
Paper
(
besides
the
Sixty
per Cent
.
on
French
)
and
without
further
Duties
will
have
the
Advantage
of
Thirty
Five
per Cent
.
above
all
others
;
which
't
is
presumed
is
a
sufficient
Encouragement
for
the
Manufacture
here
:
notwithstanding
which
,
they
are
not
able
to
make
a
Quantity
sufficient
to
serve
the
Nation
for
common
Uses
,
much
less
to
provide
for
the
Printing
those
many
Books
of
Value
and
Learning
,
which
would
be
printed
here
,
if
not
hindred
by
High
Duties
.
II
.
The
high
Price
of
Paper
will
very
near
destroy
the
Manufacture
of
PRINTING
,
which
is
,
or
would
be
,
if
not
hindred
by
this
Discouragement
,
more
profitable
to
the
Nation
than
ever
the
Paper-Manufacture
is
capable
of
being
.
And
this
is
very
apparent
;
for
the
Hollanders
by
a
modest
Computation
have
within
Ten
Years
increased
the
Riches
of
their
Republick
to
the
Value
of
Two
Hundred
Thousand
Pounds
by
the
Manufacture
of
Printing
alone
,
the
Expences
thereof
being
not
above
One
Third
Part
,
the
rest
the
Produce
of
Labour
and
Industry
.
For
this
they
are
in
a
great
measure
obliged
to
the
Scarcity
and
Dearness
of
Paper
,
proper
for
Printing
,
in
England
;
since
our
Nation
has
,
and
are
at
this
Time
giving
many
Instances
that
they
are
as
able
and
willing
to
carry
on
the
Printing
of
great
and
useful
Books
in
all
Languages
,
as
any
other
in
Europe
;
which
would
certainly
be
a
great
Honour
and
Advantage
to
the
Publick
:
Whereas
to
encrease
the
Duty
on
Paper
will
encourage
the
Du●●
to
reprint
all
the
Copies
of
any
Value
,
belonging
to
his
Majesty's
Subjects
here
,
which
for
want
of
〈◇〉
Law
to
protect
Property
,
they
easily
bring
hither
.
And
also
vend
them
in
France
,
Germany
,
Scotland
,
Ireland
,
&c
,
to
the
great
Detriment
of
England
.
III
.
This
Petition
for
New
Duties
,
made
by
the
Paper-Makers
,
(
set
on
foot
and
promoted
by
a
Stock-Jobber
,
who
endeavours
to
monopolize
that
Trade
,
)
is
apparently
nothing
but
a
Design
o●
Self
Interest
,
to
a
very
few
Persons
,
that
by
inhancing
the
price
of
Forein
Paper
they
may
have
th●
Opportunity
of
making
an
exorbitant
profit
of
their
own
:
since
the
English
Paper-Makers
never
wan●
Vent
at
a
profitable
rate
,
for
as
much
Commodity
as
they
are
able
to
make
;
and
the
laying
more
Duty
will
prove
almost
a
Prohibition
,
and
raise
the
price
of
Paper
to
such
an
excessive
Degree
,
that
the
Nation
in
general
will
be
thereby
very
much
prejudiced
.
IV
.
That
the
Publick
will
not
be
benefited
by
such
a
Tax
,
is
evident
;
For
the
Custom-house
☞
Books
demonstrate
,
That
the
present
Duties
on
Paper
bring
in
annually
more
than
when
the
late
Additional
Tax
was
added
to
them
;
since
it
appears
that
the
Great
Duties
in
1696
,
and
1697.
did
not
produce
clear
above
Five
thousand
eight
hundred
Pounds
per
Annum
.
And
though
by
the
Name
of
a
FUND
it
was
obtained
(
to
the
extreme
Hardship
of
many
hundred
Families
)
the
Publick
did
not
gain
by
it
:
for
what
was
received
under
the
Notion
of
an
Additional
Duty
,
wa●
really
lost
to
the
Nation
,
either
out
of
the
Ordinary
Customs
,
or
by
the
Share
the
King
himself
paid
for
Paper
used
in
all
his
Offices
.
WHEREFORE
since
the
Manufacture
of
Paper
bath
already
sufficient
Encouragement
to
continue
the
Improvement
thereof
,
and
that
it
is
impossible
to
make
Paper
enough
in
England
to
serve
the
Nation
,
by
reason
the
Materials
of
wh●ch
i●
is
made
are
wanting
here
,
that
the
Impor●●tion
of
Foreign
Paper
will
be
so
far
discouraged
that
the
Printing-Manufacture
will
be
destroyed
,
and
the
Publick
Revenues
will
be
lessened
by
an
Additional
Duty
on
Paper
:
The
Allegation
in
the
Petition
,
is
to
improve
the
Manufacturing
of
Paper
here
:
But
laying
a
further
Duty
on
Forein
Paper
will
be
a
very
great
Prejudice
to
Woollen
and
other
Manufactures
;
for
the
Parts
from
which
we
are
supplied
,
take
off
from
this
Kingdom
such
Quantities
of
our
Product
and
Manufacture
,
that
does
overbalance
the
Importation
of
their
Paper
;
and
such
further
Duties
will
consequently
hinder
the
Exporting
of
our
own
C●●modities
to
those
parts
.
't
is
humbly
hoped
the
Honourable
House
of
Commons
will
not
think
necessary
to
lay
a
New
Duty
on
Foreign
Paper
,
for
the
Advantage
of
a
Few
Private
Owners
of
some
English
Paper-Mills
;
when
so
many
Hundred
Families
of
His
Majesty's
Subjects
,
whose
Livelihoods
depend
upon
Printing
and
other
English
Manufactures
,
will
be
ruined
thereby
;
the
Honour
as
well
as
interest
of
the
Nation
suffer
;
and
when
not
one
Penny
will
be
really
brought
in
for
the
Service
of
the
Publick
.