Cider Bill of 1763
A British cider tax that sparked riots and reshaped privacy law.
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The Cider Bill of 1763 was a proposed measure by the British government of Lord Bute to put a tax on the production of cider. It is notable for sparking widespread riots and outrage, particularly in the West Country, and for contributing to Lord Bute's resignation as Prime Minister. The controversy surrounding the bill has been compared to the later hostility in the American colonies to the Stamp Act of 1765.
Quick Facts
- Proposed by
- Lord Bute
- Tax amount
- four shillings per hogshead of cider
- Year proposed
- 1763
- Successor prime minister
- George Grenville
- Year of repeal
- 1766
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Cider Bill of 1763 was introduced by Lord Bute's government as a response to Britain's unprecedented national debt following the expensive Seven Years' War. The tax of four shillings per hogshead of cider provoked an immediate reaction from cider-producing areas, especially the West Country, which elected many Members of Parliament. Riots broke out and there was widespread outrage against the bill. The dispute added to Lord Bute's growing unpopularity, and in mid-1763 he stepped down as Prime Minister.
His successor, George Grenville, pushed through the tax, defeating an opposition motion for repeal in February 1764. The tax was eventually repealed in 1766. Some of the strongest words in favour of an individual's privacy from government intrusions into the home were made in the attacks opposing enactment and favouring repeal of this tax, because excise taxes allowed warrantless searches. One of William Pitt's best known quotes comes from one of his speeches against this tax.
Reader's Guide
The Cider Bill of 1763 holds significance beyond its immediate fiscal impact. The reaction to the tax has been compared to the similar hostility in the American colonies to the Stamp Act of 1765; George Grenville initially went ahead with the Stamp Act because previous bills had not aroused such anger in America as the Cider Tax had in Britain. More enduringly, the debates over this tax, along with the general warrants issued to suppress anti-Bute publications, particularly those involving John Wilkes and John Entick, are considered a source of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The warrantless searches permitted by excise taxes under the bill prompted strong defenses of individual privacy from government intrusion into the home. The case of Miller v. United States (1958) later noticed the significance of these debates. The bill thus contributed to the development of legal protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, linking a British tax dispute to foundational American constitutional principles.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Cider Bill of 1763 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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