| Description | Letter written by Henry Dundas, London, to the Duke of Atholl. He has now considered the reports of the commissioners upon Isle of Man affairs and various representations by the duke and has sent to the treasury extracts relevant to fiscal matters with a view to alterations in the laws to improve public revenue from the island. The revision of present 'restraints' should benefit trade and inhabitants' prosperity. He comments that the system of revenue appointments and collection should be completely revised and improvements should be made in administration of justice and in ancient constitution by British law officers as well as those of the island with assistance of Grant as arbiter. The deficiencies in the Revesting Act will be considered by the law officers and agreement reached with the duke regarding manorial and other rights reserved to him. Dundas notes that he cannot advise the king that the duke be appointed hereditary governor of the Isle of Man and be responsible for the management of the revenues instead of their coming under the Boards of either Scotland or England, the latter being a Treasury decision as elsewhere in the kingdom.
[For private explanatory letter which accompanied this, see appendix.] |