Distillation Act 1759
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1759 c. 9 |
(33 Geo. 2) C A P. IX.
'WHEREAS the high Price of Spirituous Liquors hath been a principal Cause of the Diminutionof the Home Consumption thereof, and hath thereby greatly contributed to the Health, Sobriety and Industry of the common People: And whereas it is therefore of the utmost Importance to the publick Welfare, that some timely Provision should be made for preventing the Return of all those Mischiess which must unavoidably ensue, in case such Spirituous Liquors should again be suffered to be sold at as low a Rate as formerly: And forasmuch as the most effectual and expedient Method of continuing the high Price of Spirituous Liquors, will be by laying a large additional Duty on such Spirituous Liquors;' May it therefore please your most Excellent Majesty, that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the twenty-first DayofApril one thousand seven hundred and sixty there shall be raised, levied, collected and paid unto his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, throughout the Kingdom of Great Britain , for the several Kinds of Spirituous Liquors herein after mentioned, specified and enumerated (over and above all Duties, Charges and Impositions, by any former Act or Acts of Parliament thereupon respectively set, rated and imposed) the several additional Rates and Duties of Excise, herein after mentioned and expressed; that is to say,
For every Gallon of Low Wines, or Spirits of the first Extraction, made or drawn from any Sort of Drink or Wash, brewed or made from any Sort of Malt or Corn, or from Brewers Wash or Tilts, or any Mixture with such Brewers Wash or Tilts, to be paid by the Distillers or Makers thereof, five Pence.
For every Gallon of Strong Waters orAqua Vitoe , made for Sale of the Materials aforesaid, or any of them, to be paid by the Distillers or Makers thereof, one Shilling and three Pence.
For every Gallon of Low Wines, or Spirits of the first Extraction, made or drawn from any foreign or imported Materials, or any Mixture therewith, to be paid by the Distillers or Makers thereof, one Shilling and Three-pence.
For every Gallon of Spirits made or drawn from any foreign or imported Materials, or any Mixture therewith, to be paid by the Distillers or Makers thereof, eight Pence.
For every Gallon of Low Wines, or Spirits of the first Extraction, made or drawn from Cyder, or any Sort or Kind ofBritish Materials, except those before mentioned, or any Mixture therewith, to be paid by the Distillers or Makers thereof, six Pence three Farthings.
For every Gallon of Spirits made for Sale from Cyder or any Sort or Kind ofBritish Materials, except those before mentioned, to be paid by the Distillers or Makers thereof, one Shilling and one Penny three Farthings.
For every Gallon of single Brandy Spirits, orAqua Vit , imported into Great Britain from beyond the Seas, to be paid by the Importer before landing, one Shilling.
For every Gallon of Brandy Spirits, orAqua Vit , above Proof, commonly called Double Brandy , imported into Great Britain from beyond the Seas, to be paid by the Importer before landing, two Shillings.
II The Duties in England to be under the Receipt and Management of the Commissioners and Officers of Excise there;
II. And for the better ascertaining, charging, collecting, raising, levying and securing the Rates and Duties by this Act imposed on the said Spirituous Liquors, and preventing Frauds therein, Be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That such of the said Rates and Duties by this Act granted, as are charged upon Spirituous Liquors made, extracted and manufactured in, or imported intoEngland , Wales , or the Town of Berwick upon Tweed , shall be under the Receipt and Management of the Commissioners and Officers of his Majesty's Revenues of Excise in England for the Timebeing; and such of the said Rates and Duties, as are imposed by this Act upon Spirituous Liquors made, extracted, and manufactured in, or imported intoScotland , shall be under the Receipt and Management of the Commissioners and Officers of Excise in Scotland for the Time being; and the said respective Commissioners of Excise, or the major Part of them, have hereby Power, by Commission under their respective Hands and Seals, to constitute and appoint under them such Officersas shall be necessary in that Behalf: And all Monies arising by the said Duties inGreat Britain , or any Part thereof (the necessary Charges of raising and accounting for the same excepted) shall, from Time to Time, be paid into the Receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer at Westminster , distinctly and apart from all other Branchesof the publick Revenues; and shall stand appropriated and be applied to the same Uses and Purposes respectively as the present Duties on Spirituous Liquors are now applicable and appropriated unto.
III The additional Duties upon Rum imported from the British Plantations, to be paid in like Manner as the former Duties charged thereon.
III. Provided always, and be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the additional Rate or Duty hereby charged upon Ruin or Spirits of the Growth, Produce or Manufacture of theBritish Sugar Plantations, imported into this Kingdom, shall be paid and payable in such Manner only, and under such Regulations and Restrictions, as the Rates and Duties of Excise heretofore charged on such Rum or Spirits are now by Law paid and payable.
'IV. And whereas by an Act made in this present Session of Parliament, it was enacted, That an Act made in the thirtieth Year of his present Majesty's Reign, intituled, ; which by several subsequent Acts, was continued until the twenty-fourth Day ofDecember one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine; and also so much of an Act made in the last Session of Parliament, intituled, , as prohibits the making of Low Wines and Spirits from Bran; which was to continue until the twenty-fourth Day ofDecember one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, should be, and the same were thereby continued from the Expiration thereof, until the twenty-fourth Day of December one thousand seven hundred and sixty, unless such Continuation of the said Acts, or of any Parts thereof, should be abridged or shortened by any other Act to be made in this present Session of Parliament;' Be it therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, Thatfrom and after the twenty-first Day ofApril one thousand seven hundred and sixty, the Prohibition established and enacted by the said Acts of making, extracting, or distilling Low Wines and Sprits from Wheat, Barley, Malt or any other Sort of Grain, and from Meal, Flour or Bran, or any Mixture therewith, and all Penalties, Powers and Regulations in the said Acts, so far as the same could or might extend or operate with respect to the making of Low Wines and Spirits from the Materials aforesaid, after the said twenty-first Day of April one thousand seven hundred and sixty, shall cease, and be no longer in Force or Effect; any thing in the said Acts contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
V unless during the Recess of Parliament, the Price of Wheat shall exceed, for two successive Market Days, 48 s. per Quarter in the Port of London; in which Case, the King may, by Proclamation, continue the Prohbition.
V. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if at any Time or Times after the said twenty-first Day ofApril one thousand seven hundred and sixty, during the Recess of Parliament, the Price of Wheat shall exceed forty-eight Shillings the Quarter Winchester Measure, for two successive Market Days, in the Port of London , and it shall appear expedient to his Majesty, his Heirs or Successors, to prohibit the making of Low Wines and Spirits from Wheat, Barley, Malt and any other Sort of Grain, and from Meal, Flour and Bran, or any Mixture therewith, it shall and may be lawful to and for his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, from Time to Time, by his or their Royal Proclamation or Proclamations, to be issued by and with the Advice of his or their Privy Council, or by his or their Order in Council, to be published in theLondon Gazette , from time to time, to prohibit the making, extracting or distilling of any Kind of Low Wines or Spirits from any Wheat, Barley, Malt, and any other Sort of Grain, and from Meal, Flour and Bran, or any Mixture therewith, for any Time or Times during such Recess, or until twenty Days after the Commencement of the then next Session of Parliament.
'VI. And whereas the Oath appointed by an Actof Parliament made in the sixth Year of his Majesty's Reign, intituled,An Act for repealing an Act for laying a Duty on Compound Waters or Spirits; and for licensing the Retailers thereof; and for determining certain Duties on French Brandy, and for granting other Duties in lieu thereof; and for inforcing the Laws for preventing the Running of...
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