Excerpt from That Island
The prohibitions, caused mainly by the passing of the ’navigation Acts’, were designed to encourage the commerce of Great Britain, by excluding foreign competition. Thus, any goods or manufactures, which were likely to come into serious competition with those of Great Britain, were either prohibited from being imported, or hampered with heavy duties. Another important prohibition was on East India goods, which were restricted from entry into the country, except through the Staple Port of London, and subject to the regulations of the monopolistic trading company, ’the East India Company’, Because of this restriction, the distribution of these goods through the country was an extremely tedious business; however, the operation of large Charter Companies made the collection of Custom duties an easier task.
To assist home manufacturers and esporters, a system of bounties was introduced, whereby inducements were offered to these people, to encourage and stimulate the economic growth of the country. These inducements generally took the form of a guaranteed price for the goods manufactured for the export market. But even this system of bounties had adverse effects on some sections of british home industries, especially the brewing, the tobacco manufacturing and to a small extent the tan ning trades. The Scottish Customs Commissioners complained that the chief internal trade of the Island was brewing, which had then expanded so much, that several breweries were importing as much barley as they could, from the Western parts of Great Britain and from Ireland. These brewers received the bounty and paid no malting duty, as the beer was brewed within the Island where the British duty could not be collected. The estimated out-put of the Manx breweries was considered to be 40% of the total of the British Isles. The loss to the British Exchequer, in payment of bounty and the absence of any return on the malting duty, was a particular concern to the British Customs, as was the loss of trade to the British brewers of the strong beer brewed in the Island, which was sold to British ships mainly on route for Virginies and Guinea.
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