but the
half of what was laid in England; and a bill was accordingly passed as
fast as the forms could possibly allow of, least their constituents
should have time to remonstrate against it....

Some little time before the 23rd of June (on which day the malt tax
commenced) delegates were sent from most of the considerable touns, to
meet and confer with the brewers at Edinburgh, where many proposals
were made for eluding the law, to be, as occasions offered, put in
practice: the first thing to be guarded against was the dutys of malt
stock in hand; and to avoid the heavy penalty of not entering the same,
it was resolved to obey the law in that respect, but at the same time
not to make payment of the duty thereon, and if the Commissioners of
excise sued them, to give over brewing and consequently sink the revenue
of excise, which was indeed chiefly aimed at by those who bestirred
themselves at this time in behalf of the country, that the Government
might perceive they'd lose more of the excise than they could gain by
the malt tax: but what alarmed people most was the unreasonable article
of surcharge, to be levied proportionately off such as entered and paid
the duty of what was malted after 23rd of June, in so far as the clear
produce (after deducing the charges of collecting) fell short of
20,000_l._ sterling, whereby those who submitted to the Government and
paid the malt tax ran the hazard of making up the deficiencie arising
from those who did otherwise, which so startled all the considerable
brewers, who generally speaking are also maltsters, that they found it
absolutely necessary to malt none after the commencement of this duty.

On the 23rd of June, when the duty took place, the excise officers were
obliged to fly out of most of the towns in the western shires, but in
Glasgow the resentment ran higher. Daniell Campbell of Shawfeild, who
represented that burgh in Parliament, having incurred the hatred of the
inhabitants thereof, because he was believed, on too good grounds, to
have had the chief hand in giving the Government such informations of
the way and manner of trading there, as occasioned a few years ago an
act of Parliament, that lay heavily on their tobacco trade, was likewise
said and believed to have encouraged to hope there was no difficulty in
raising the malt tax; and these joined together rendered him detestable
over all the Kingdom, especially at Glasgow, where they threatened to
pull down his new