The Equivalent was a sum negotiated at £398,085 10s. 0d. (equivalent to £84,606,229 in 2023) paid to Scotland by the English Government under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707. Proposals for it first emerged in the course of abortive Union negotiations in 1702 to 1703.
| Equivalent Act 1713 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to discharge and acquit the Commissioners of Equivalent, for the Sum of Three Hundred Eighty-one Thousand Five Hundred and Nine Pounds, Fifteen Shillings, Ten Pence Half-penny, by them duly issued, out of the Sum of Three Hundred Ninety-eight Thousand Eighty-five Pounds, Ten Shillings, which they received. |
| Citation | 13 Ann. c. 12 Ruffhead 12 Ann. St. 2 c. 13 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 9 July 1714 |
| Repealed | 15 July 1867 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1867 |
Status: Repealed | |
The Equivalent's purposes were ostensibly to take account of the contribution that Scots taxpayers would then make towards servicing the English national debt and as transitional mitigation of the effects of higher taxes on the Scottish economy. Though attempts have been made to see it as a precise calculation, it is now generally regarded as part of a political bargain designed for other purposes as well, such as the costs of winding up the Company of Scotland which had undertaken the Darien scheme. Shareholders in and creditors of the company were to receive 58.6% of The Equivalent.[1] It was also suggested that payments found their way to members of the Scottish Parliament who voted for its abolition.[2]
The fund was ultimately overseen in 1728 by Patrick Campbell, Lord Monzie, a Scottish judge.[3]
References
edit- ^ Watt, Douglas. The Price of Scotland: Darien, Union and the wealth of nations, Luath Press 2007.
- ^ Crofton, Ian. A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable, Birlinn, 2012, p. 161.
- ^ "The Campbell of Monzie Papers".