Attorney General Busk's Letter to Commissioners on Pre-1765 Customs Revenue and Smuggling
- Item sets
- Sources
- Name
- Attorney General Busk's Letter to Commissioners on Pre-1765 Customs Revenue and Smuggling
- Description
- Wadsworth Busk, Attorney General, presents evidence to the Commissioners of Inquiry refuting the Duke of Atholl's claims about fair collection of customs revenues prior to 1765. Busk argues that the vast majority of pre-Revestment customs income derived from illicit smuggling in tobacco, East India goods, spirits, and wine—not legitimate trade. He traces the rise of contraband commerce from c.1709, the role of merchant lessees (1720–1727), and subsequent decline due to Parliamentary restrictions and naval enforcement. This document is central to establishing that compensation paid for the Revestment should not have accounted for illegally-obtained revenues.
- Date
- 29th October, 1791
- Related To
- James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl
- Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby
- John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl
- Type
- Financial Data
- Collection
- Crown Administration
- Type
- Administrative Correspondence
- Date Created
- 1791-10-29
- Creator
- Wadsworth Busk, Attorney General
- Audience
- Commissioners of Inquiry for the Isle of Man
- Language
- English