Available online
Description
This programme looks at the modern system of revenue collection by the Customs and Excise and explains by contrast the money problems and inadequacies of the system which operated in the 18th centu...ry and which made inevitable the widespread practice of smuggling. Adam Smith had close family connections with the customs service and became a commissioner in Scotland himself. His ideas on revenue and taxation contained in Book V of 'The Wealth of Nations' had great influence on Pitt's legislation and the subsequent reform of the custom service.
This programme looks at the modern system of revenue collection by the Customs and Excise and explains by contrast the money problems and inadequacies of the system which operated in the 18th centu...ry and which made inevitable the widespread practice of smuggling. Adam Smith had close family connections with the customs service and became a commissioner in Scotland himself. His ideas on revenue and taxation contained in Book V of 'The Wealth of Nations' had great influence on Pitt's legislation and the subsequent reform of the custom service.
| Module code and title: | A204, The Enlightenment |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A204; 12 |
| First transmission date: | 21-08-1980 |
| Published: | 1980 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:17:19 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Roger Thompson |
| Contributors: | Stuart Brown; Graham Smith |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | 1784 Commutation Act; Poole; Revenue; Smuggling; Taxes |
| Footage description: | The programme opens with shots of 18th century London warehouses over which Stuart Brown (OU) describes storage of tea in 1772. From the still he describes the extent of tea smuggling in England. Prints show an l8th century tea auction by inch of candle. The procedure of such auctions is described by Brown. A short dramatisation shows a parson buying his smuggled tea. It is based on an entry in the diary of a Norfolk parson. A map of Britain indicates the location of Galloway. Brown describes the role of smuggling in the economy of 18th century Galloway. He explains how smuggling was organised in this part of Scotland. A portrait of John Wesley is shown, then a map indicates the location of Wigtown. Brown describes opposition to smuggling from Wesley and from the authorities to Wigtown. He reads an extract from an anti smuggling resolution passed by Wigtown Town Council in 1774. Prints of smugglers are shown over which Brown describes Smith's attitude towards smuggling. He also describes the severe penalties that smuggling carried. Graham Smith, Librarian and Archivist at HM Customs and Excise, describes l8th century smuggling around Poole in Dorset over shots of the town's harbour. A map is used to show the size of Poole Harbour. From a boat actually in the harbour Smith describes Custom's seizures of smuggled goods. Prints show 18th century revenue cutters in action. From the Custom House at Poole he explains the purpose of the King's Beam and comments on trade in Poole. Shots of warelouses. From the Custom House at Poole Smith describes a brutal murder committed by a gang of Sussex smugglers in 1747. Contemporary prints depicting the crime are shown, over which Manning Wilson reads from a contemporary account of it. Film of Smith at the grave of a Dorset smuggler who avoided capture. Wilson then reads a rhyme from the gravestone of a smuggler who was caught. Brown describes Adam Smith's ideas on smuggling and tea taxes. He describes Smith's family connections with the Customs service. Smith's plans for import duties are outlined. A painting of Pitt in Parliament is shown over Brown describes Smith's influence on Pitt. He describes the 1784 Commutation Act and its effect on both the tea companies and the smugglers. Brief shot of one of Smith's last letters dealing with smuggling over which Brown describes the capture of a Galloway smuggler by Smith's customs officers. Credits, (with folk song over). |
| Production number: | FOUA050N |
| Videofinder number: | 2270 |
| Available to public: | no |
