the 1772 original was found. Two later
published versions, one in 1792 by J.
S. Jordan with an anonymous forward,
and one in 1817 by W. T. Sherwin were
found. This was becoming interesting,
after Paine’s fame was established
in America; at least two individuals
had picked up on the importance of
the Lewes document. In the forward
of Jordan’s publication the writer
comments that “The Case of the
Officers of Excise” was Paine’s “first
literary attempt” and that “his virgin
effort discovers a great share of that
vigour and subtlety of mind”
Below is the final resounding paragraph
of Thomas Paine’s first pamphlet,
clearly looking forward to a time when
corruption of the Officers of Excise
would be eliminated by fair pay and
conditions.
“An augmentation of salary sufficient
to enable them to live honestly, and
competently would produce more good
effect than all the laws of the land can
enforce. The generality of such frauds
as the officers have been detected in
have appeared of a nature as remote
from inherent dishonesty as a temporary
illness is from an incurable disease.
Surrounded with want, children and
despair, what can the husband or the
father do? No laws compel like nature no connections bind like blood.
With an addition of salary the excise
would wear a new aspect, and recover
its former constitution. Languor and
neglect would give place to care and
cheerfulness. Men of reputation and
abilities would seek after it, and finding
a comfortable maintenance, would stick
to it. The unworthy and the incapable
would be rejected; the power of
superiors be re-established, and laws
and instructions receive new force. The
officers would be secured from the
temptations of poverty, and the revenue
from the evils of it; the cure would be
as extensive as the complaint, and new
health out-root the present corruptions.”
Whilst searching for ‘The Case of The
Officers of Excise’ another publication
with the title ‘The CASE of the KING
OF ENGLAND and his OFFICERS of
EXCISE’ published privately by George
Hindmarch in 1998, showed on the
British library listing. The remaining
copies were found with the help of
Robert Morell, the acting secretary of
the national Thomas Paine Society. The
claims within this book are nothing short
of extraordinary. George Hindmarch
died in 2006; his research material
was generously made available by
the Thomas Paine Society on the
proviso that it was passed to East
Sussex Record Office. George was
an exciseman and had interpreted the
excise archive entries about Paine
and his superior officers with an
exciseman’s eye.
Hindmarch’s interpretation tells a story
in contradiction to previous accounts.
He shows us that Paine was discharged
initially in Alford not for corruption,
but for whistleblowing, describing
an eighteenth century world that had
only known corruption in the excise
service. The writings of Graham Smith,
H M Customs and Excise librarian and
archivist, support this, “Defoe noted that
smuggling and rogueing is the reigning
commerce from the mouth of the
Thames to Cornwall, very few collectors
were prepared to make a stand against
this (1724)”.
Smith notes that the expense of printing
and distributing 4000 copies of the Case
of the Officers of Excise would have
required formal, central organisation.
Hindmarch argues that this must have
been from London. Hindmarch and
Smith had both, as excisemen, spotted
what other biographers had missed
to date. The main clue has always
been there in a letter Paine wrote to
Oliver Goldsmith, the famous poet
and playwright, stating about his own
first pamphlet, “It is my first and only
attempt, and even now I should not
have undertaken it, had I not been
particularly applied to by some of my
superiors in office”.
The Lewes pamphlet was eclipsed by
the huge events of the American and
French revolutions, even in Paine’s
mind, for he never refers to it again.
But revolution does not always require
bloodletting, the changes effected by
The Case of The Officers of Excise have
been deeper than hitherto realised.
Graham Smith acknowledges Paine’s
contribution to the well being of officers
through the Lewes pamphlet. The
office of excise eventually accepted
all of the proposals made by Paine.
It took time though; the distressing
enforced periodic transference of
officers was finally abolished in 1857,
eighty-five years after the pamphlet
was distributed. It is ironic that Thomas
Paine made such positive contributions
to the service that his eventual
detractors were most dependent on.
Hindmarch takes us back to 1698,
William of Orange nearly went back
to Holland as he was not being paid
enough to be a King of England, Ireland
and Scotland. The civil list was created
at this point in time to resolve this
delicate issue, the Crown being granted
certain revenues mainly from excise and
customs. This was not a rolling deal but
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