REASONS Humbly Offered to the Honourable House of Commons.  
Why no farther Duty or Excise be laid upon Wines.  
I. THAT most of the Wines now Imported are of the Growth and Dominions of Spain and Portugal, Friends and Alleys to the Crown of England.  
II. That they are the Product of English Manufactures entirely.  
III. That the Dominions of Spain and Portugal give Consumption to the greatest part of our English Manufactures, viz. bays, says, Serges, Porpetuanes, Cloth, Kersyes, Hose, Hats; All sorts of Norwich-Stuffs, Welch-Cottons, and plains, and many other Commodities.  
IV. That the Duty on Wine is already, 18 l. per Tun. For which Reason, the Trade with great difficulty bears it.  
V. That on the Spanish Wines there is generally Lost every Year, and more-especially the last, in the Canary-Trade, to the Value of 30000. l.  
VI. That the Portugal Wines proving generally bad this Year, and more Imported, and Coming, then can be Consumed, will occasion a Loss in the General, of at least 4 l. per Tun, and on particular Persons, from 16 to 24 l. whereby not onely the freight of 8 and 10 l. per Tun, but the Principal is Lost.  
VII. That this extraordinary Duty of 12 l. per Tun now intended to be laid, will lessen, instead of Augmenting the King's Customs, for the higher any Commodity is raised, the consumption will be the less, and Consequently the Importation lesser, which will have a double Influence; not only on this now intended Duty, but on the old too, and this Branch of the revenue sinking; how far it will Post-pone the loans on Wine and Vinegar, may be worth Enquiry.  
VIII. That it will put the Spaniards and Portugues on doing the like on our Manufactures, or which may be worse, Prohibit their Importation, by setting up Manufactures of their own.  
IX. That if we do not Import the fruits of Spain and Portugal, they cannot buy our Manufactures; so both must sink, the Revenue of the Crown be lost, and the Poor employed in both Kingdoms undone.  
X. That the laying the Great Duty on Brazil Sugars, was a Total Prohibition of that Commodity; and gave occasion for the King of Portugal to Prohibit the Importation of Cloth, and other Goods into his Dominions.  
XI. That the Wine Traders in the City of London, where the greatest part of the Wines are Imported, are but a 100 Men, on whom this heavy Tax of 140000 l. per Annum will fall; and by that, and the great Credit they give the Vintners, they will be incapacitated to Trade.  
XII. That to lay it on the Vintners, is equally the same thing; for they being generally in Merchants Debts, cannot be able to pay it. More especially, being liable to the King's Extent; can have no further Credit, and it will have the dismal effect to ruin and undo most of the Merchants and Vintners.  
XIII. That the Merchants, Proposers of this Project, being designed Farmers, will first Ruin the Fair Traders, and afterwards monopolise the little Trade remaining to themselves.  
XIV. That with this new intended Duty the Custom will be 30 l. per Tun, and give encouragement to the Corruption of Officers to defraud the King of his Customs, and steal the whole Duty; a practise formerly used by some Ill Men.  
XV. That if this new Duty should be laid, it will force Merchants to sand many of the Ships( now expected home) to Holland, Hamburgh, and the baltic, where little or no Duty is paid; which they will the rather choose to do, than to Import here, to pay this heavy Duty, which must be trusted on such uncertain terms to the Vintners; and to this end, some Orders are gone to the Downs and other Ports already.  
To Sum up all, it will endanger the Trade itself; for if this heavy Duty is laid, and a Peace with France should ensue, it will be a means to introduce the French Wine-Trade again; and throw out that of the Spanish and Portugal, to the great Damage of this Nation; for the Project itself from those intended Farmers, looks like a French Trick, and instead of advancing the King's Revenue, will really lessen it.  
Therefore it is humbly hoped, The Honourable House of Commons will not suffer the Bill to pass.