The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-07-19 00:00:00

LUXURIES AND THE REVENUE.

The report of the Commissioners of Customs for last
year, just issued, states that the Customs revenue col-
lected during the past year was but slightly in excess
of that of 1877, even when we take into account the
increase arising from the additional duties on tobacco
imposed in the early part of 1878. But for that addi-
tional source of revenue the collection of 1878 would
have fallen a little below that of the previous year.
The Commissioners point out that the revenue
is now for the most part collected on articles which,
although they are not articles of primary necessity in
the sense of sustaining life, yet from their general use
in one form or another by almost all classes of the
community are such as cannot be looked upon, except
in an extreme sense, as luxuries. Their consumption
would therefore go on until the general impoverish-
ment came to a point very much below anything we
have yet experienced, and with their consumption the
revenue accruing from them would also continue in
the same proportion.
It is also to be noticed that side by side with the
commercial disasters and depression of the past year
there has been a considerable decline in the price of
almost every article of necessity or of ordinary luxury.
The average price of wheat fell from 564. 9d. per
quarter, at which it stood in 1877, to 465. 5d., and
there was a corresponding fall, more or less marked, in
the price of commodities generally. The purchasing
power of all that considerable part of the population
which is not immediately affected by any concurrent
reduction in the rate of wages has thus been increased,
and to these facts the commissioners think it may be
fairly attributed that the revenue returns of the year
did not present themselves in a more unsatisfactory
light.
With regardito:the additional tobacco duty, it seems
that the quantity of leaf tobacco cleared from the
bonded warehouses for home consumption was
47,969,2631 b., being a deficiency of 2'6 per cent. This
decrease has been generally accepted as an indication
of the diminished capacity on the part of the working
classes to purchase articles of comparative luxury.
The duty on leaf tobacco was increased to 3s. 6d. per
lb. in April 1878, so that only nine month's consump-
tion at the higher rate is included in the above account
which relates to the transactions of the calendar year.
The commissioners remarked that, assuming that the
increase of duty has not affecteel the consumption of
tobacco, an assumption strengthened by the unpre-
cedented cheapness of the article the loss to the
nvenue in the year on leaf tobacco would have been
£209,600 if the duty had remained at the old rate of
3s. per lb. and 5 per cent thereon. There was an
actual increase of £362,864 in the year ended 31st
December, 1878.
The decrease in the quantity of spirits consumed,
although in itself not large, viz., 23 per cent., is
rendered somewhat significant by the fact that this is
the third year in which a diminution has taken place.
Comparing the quantities of all unsweetened spirits
delivered for home consumption in 1878 with those de-
livered in 1875 there is a falling off of 1,063,000 gallons.
or 92 per cent. The increase in the quantity of tea
consumed is 6,4160,00 lbs., or 42 per cent, greater than
that of the previous year. In 1876 and 1877 the in-
creases were only 25 and 13 per cent, respectively.
In 1874 the increase was 4 per cent., and in 1875
nearly 6 per cent., comparing the result of each year
with that of the year immediately preceding it. The
falling off in the consumption of wine in 1878 was no
less than 3,398,825 gallons or 7 9 per cent., and this
was preceded by a decline of 52 per cent. on a similar
comparison of the figures far 1876 and 1877. Taking
the consumption for the years 1876 and 1878 we get
the following result :—For 1876, 18,671,089 gallons;
for 1878, 16,272,295 gallons; total, 2,398,794 gallons,
viz., a decrease of more than 2i million gallons, or 12
per cent. in the short period ot two years.