People have a custom of excusing the enormities of their conduct by talking of their passions, and as if they were under the control of a blind necessity, and sinned because they could not help it. Cumberland.

But on my right hand and my left, instead Of thee and Zames, and our customed meeting, Was ranged on my left hand a haughty, dark, And deadly face.—I could not recognize it, Yet I had seen it, though I knew not where

Byron. Sardanap.

CUSTOMS, in political economy, the duties, toll, tribute, or tariff, payable to the king upon merchandise exported and imported, forming a branch of the perpetual taxes. The consideration upon which this revenue, or the more ancient part of it, which arose only from exports, was invested in the king, were said to be two: 1. Because he gave the subject leave to depart the kingdom, and to carry his goods along with him. 2. Because the king was bound of common right to maintain and keep up the ports and havens, and to protect the merchant from pirates. Some have imagined they are called with us customs, because they were the inheritance of the king by immemorial usage and the common law, and not granted by any statute; but Sir Edward Coke has clearly shown, that the king's first claim to them was by grant of parliament, 3 Edw. I. And indeed this is in express words confessed by statute 25 Edw. I. c. 7, wherein the king promised to take no custom from merchants, without the common assent of the realm, saving to us and our heirs the customs on wool, skins, and leather, formerly granted to us by the commonalty aforesaid.' These were formerly called hereditary customs of the crown; and were due on the exportation only of the above three commodities, and none other which were styled the staple commodities of the kingdom, because they were obliged to be brought to those ports where the king's staple was established, in order to be there first rated and then exported. In the barbarous Latin of our ancient records, they were denominated custuma, an appellation which seems to be derived from the French word coustume, or coutume, which signifies toll or tribute, and owes its own etymology to the word coust, which signifies price, charge, or as we have adopted it in English, cost; not consuetudines, which is the language of our law whenever it means merely usages. The duties on wool, sheep-skins, or wool-fells, and leather, exported, were called custuma, antiqua sive magna: and were payable by every merchant, as well native as stranger; with this difference, that merchant strangers paid an additional toll, viz. half as much again as was paid by natives. The custuma parva et nova were an impost of three-pence in the pound due from merchant strangers only, for all commodities as well imported as exported; which was usually called the alien's duty, and was first granted in 31st Edw. I. But these ancient hereditary customs, especially those on wool and wool-fells, were of little account, when the nation became sensible of the advantages of a home

manufactnre, and prohibited the exportation of wool by statute 11 Edw. III. c. 1. Other customs payable upon exports and imports were distinguished into subsidies, tonnage, poundage, and other imposts. Subsidies were such as were imposed by parliament upon any of the staple commodities before mentioned, over and above the custuma antiqua et magna; tonnage was a duty upon all wines imported, over and above the prisage and butlerage aforesaid: poundage was a duty imposed ad valorem, at the rate of twelve-pence in the pound, on all other merchandise whatsoever and the other imposts were such as were occasionally laid on by parliament, as circumstances and times required. These distinctions are now in a manner forgotten, except by the officers immediately concerned in this department: their produce being in effect all blended together, under the one denomination of the customs. By these we understand, at present, a duty or subsidy paid by the merchant at the quay upon all imported as well as exported commodities, by authority of parliament; unless where, for particular national reasons, certain rewards, bounties, or drawbacks, are allowed for particular exports or imports. But few commodities pay a duty upon exportation: where a duty is not specified in the tables, and the exportation is not prohibited, all articles may be exported without payment of duty, provided they are regularly entered and shipped; but on failure thereof, they are subject to a duty ad valorem. To prevent frauds in the represen tation of the value, a simple and equitable regulation is made, viz. the proprietor shall himself declare the value; and if this should appear not to be a fair and true estimate, the goods may be seized by the proper officer, and four of the commissioners of the customs may direct that the owner shall be paid the price, which he himself fixed upon them, with an advance of £10 per cent. besides all the duty which he may have paid. They may then order the goods to be publicly sold, and if they raise any sum beyond what was paid to the owner, and the subsequent expenses, one-half of the overplus shall be paid to the officer who made the seizure, and the other half to the public revenue.

By 27 Geo. III. c. 13, called the consolidation act, all the former statutes imposing duties of customs and excise were repealed with regard to the quantum of the duty; and the two former books of rates were declared to be of no avail for the future; but all the former duties were consolidated, and were ordered to be paid according to a new book of rates annexed to that statute. The like plan has been followed in subsequent acts, as 43 Geo. III. c. 68, 49 Geo. III. c. 98, and particularly 6 Geo. IV. c. 111, which contains the duties now in force. These are so important to the merchant and general trader, and bear so directly on the price of the numerous commodities specified, both at home and abroad, that we have conceived a complete table of the imports, exports, and coast imports of this description, would be acceptable to a large majority of our readers.

TABLE I.-DUTIES OF CUSTOMS, INWARDS.

A TABLE of the DUTIES of CUSTOMS payable on Goods, Wares, and Merchandise mported into the United Kingdom from Foreign Parts, and of the Drawbacks to be allowed on the Exportation of such Goods, Wares, and Merchandise.