Wesley Corpus

To William Pitt, First Lord of the Treasury Date: BATH, September 6, 1784. Source: The Letters of John Wesley (1784) Author: John Wesley --- SIR, - Your former goodness, shown to one of my relations Mr. Thomas Ellison, [For John Ellison, see letter of Sept. 7, 1777; and for Captain Webb, May 25, 1782.] emboldens me to take the liberty of recommending to your notice an old friend, Lieutenant Webb. On my mentioning formerly some of his services to Lord North, his lordship was pleased to order him 100 a year. But as it has since been reduced, it is hardly a maintenance for himself and his family. If you would be so good as to remember him in this or any other way, I should esteem it a particular favor. Will you excuse me, sir, for going out of my province by hinting a few things which have been long upon my mind If those hints do not deserve any further notice, they may be forgiven and forgotten. New taxes must undoubtedly be imposed; but may not more money be produced by the old ones For instance: 1. When the land tax is four shillings in the pound, I know some towns which pay regularly seven- or fivepence. Nay, I know one town where they pay one penny in the pound. Is there no help for this 2. As to window tax: I know a gentleman who has near a hundred windows in his house; he told me he paid for twenty. 3. The same gentleman told me, 'We have above an hundred men servants in this town, but not above ten are paid for.' 4. I firmly believe that' in Cornwall alone the King is defrauded of half a million yearly in customs. What does this amount to in all Great Britain Surely not so little as five millions. Is there no way of extirpating those smuggling villains, notwithstanding their Honorable or Right Honorable abettors