The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-01-30 00:00:00

THE MALT TAX.

A public condos um held at the Townball, Dor-
chester, on Saturday afternoon, to bear as addres fro 11
Mr. Everett, the prise-essayist, Do the Malt-tax, of
Rushmore; Hoes ;O. J, Wood, Esq., of Alhallistoptos
Hall, the president of thsiDorobester Fanners' Cleft.
prodded, supported by Mr. J. Moyer, sod other
'teatimes. There wse • large attendance of sub:mi-
mic's, sod others istcreeted in the repaint the Malt-
tea. Astospt the soespany we noticed Hems. W.
Illentlekl, IL Pope, T. Saunders, It. Doses, t. Elwood,
J. Lovelace, 1. Tigard, tr. Aldridge, K. Devenich, .1.
F. Hodes., G. J. Andrews, Wallace Vyfft, Barka, J.
Chick, C. Csines, J. Kest, T. Chick, J. Byrom. A.
Multi), W. Mayo, jun., Clements, Smith (Stafford). J.
Hower, Joientl Homer, T. IL Sunders, J. FOAL
*WOO, L Damen, G. Smith, G. May.. Jul., J. Bridle,
Gouge, H. Mayo. J. Cress, H. Lock, T. Tweptins,
T. Dininias, 1). fiymoode. 11. Foot. 3. &nor. 3. 8k0".
.W. Noll, J. Minis, R. Chums, T. Coo, C. Sticklaad,
It. Palmer. S. By sees, J. &must, J. Symes, J. T. Sh. Alee
J. Gale, .1. Scup, T, lock, W. Slums. T. H. Kitchell,
W. Harding, H. Date. I. Hopkiss, Bleeksiore, C.
Hawkins, Mr. Green, U., ha

•
The Ciitiamur, alter explaining that he occupied the
chair as President of the Dorchester Farmers' Club,
under whale anapied the meeting was oonceeed,
observed that the Counsel of the Control Anti-Malt tax
Association, on considering lately the tunes to be
adopted daring the ensuing MaiOli Of Padiunent, re-
solved to diets. the House of Cominous on the subject
I of repeal or non-repeal. lie did not presume to say
that the Mallet.: would be repealed, cc, perhaps, dieted
to agy great patint &ming the semis, semion ; hot
even to the felled 'tient Of Mak willies be thoutht
they ought not to give up all hope—he did not retie.
quid all hope of obtaining the total repeal of the tax
'luring the coining sessid. (A ) At the sense
time he Urged WM filiportgliten reaalgerate, united, and
emanations effort" to that end.
Mr. Evelyn, alter mode prefatory remarks, ddid the
tt.lt-tex tirri first indeed in the year lOW, when this
wonky vu at wet with Franca, atid it contented then
to dd. per bushel. Englishness theei as now, were re-
wired to support the Government in any grid national
emergency, and, unwelcome as the tax must have been,
It met with unparatively Mite resistance. The Bah-
ia was not charged upon licodeed till many years
after, when it vu regarded with the greats.s &devour.
It was an Liatorical fast that the Soettish pee, I arnembled
in Goer (issue of it, and a notion for the diseolution of
the Dern was lad by only one vote. And the op.
pod Mon tp the tax yid not confined to the upper
Manes. Riots teo, plue it Oisegoo, and about teecty
people lost their Urea. They had beeni a good deal
shout the injustice which would be done he &lowland by
repealing the Kalt tax, but it was a feet that so In-
dignant were the pe.pla of that country at the ignitor-
lion of the tax, that ale which was then their national
beverage h.d bees replaced by spirits. (Rear, hear.)
When the surgeons.i of the country or the choice of
darenten led to the inured"( of the duty, serious
natation arou and it had been semisolid with more or
lets vigour dawn to the prectent time. This had prevailed
°Wally amonpt the agriculteral elteses, troop whom—
and especially upon the noesniners —the bsert of the
tax had obi. Ay fallen. He would eodeavoite to show
how they were injored by the Malt duty. After various
change-, it warn bronald to as much as 21s. 81. upon
every quarter of Bogllsh barley converted into nett, or
something Ibe 70 per dent added to the aver-op price
of the barley they grew. Thia naturally mussed •
diminution of the consumption of batboy. while it hid to
the us. of sugar, and other anions very nerds led led.
wine in the manufacture of the beer which shoeld be
brewed from melt and, consequently, they were
binderei in the sale of their barley, and hurt in the
prises they obtained. Mantis. proved that in 1722 UN
inhalita{lllll of this country on an average tionsased live
htliiheL el malt per head-, and that at the present tone
d
the average eco..satitptlos wee but about ten
bushels per head, which was attriblitahlo to the
operation of the Malt tax. (A voice : "Or the tes-
t millers I") Sane raid that Free Trade in barley would
result in the costetry being loundated with fore go
barley, and In the British grout obtaining a less priee
for his barley than now. This, hovrever, was whinny
enunciated by the =haters, who knew that Free Trade
in malt would lessen their own profit.. Practically we
now had Free Trade in the importance of barley, and
foreiguen did import as much as it wis prilitable for
them to send, and he should like to kitow if the Mat-
ta: were ',peeled, what would Indus them to import
more, stolen it waa that the price of barley lacee.sed, in
which case the British grower could be • sharer in its
beuelitt. It was also said that if the costar), was
tot inundated by foreigp barleyltw Uld be by foreign
malt, as the tea rayed ifid not Wore malt so much ea
It did barley. At the viand time theca was a pro-
tective duty on foreign melt of between Is. and 3s. in
excites of that charged upon the conversion of British
barley into malt. But, really, that was no protective
duty at all, for if the foreigner char to send his malt
hers be Gould pat it into bond, and let it remain there
for years, and not have to pay de duty till it was brought
to market, whereas the Kentish grower had to pay the
tax within et weeks after ouverting his barley tutu
melt.—(Mr Meeker No, twelve sr thirteen weeks.)
lie begged perdu he was informed that or 13
weeks were allowed. Thu the Foglidi wander end
the foreigner were shout brought to an aridity, and,
in the future, when there should be no customs' duty
and no malt tax, it would be so more to the interest of
the foreigner to mend his malt here thee it was at the
prernt time. Therefore, it followed, that by repeating
the Millt-tdx they crottld not be selbjeeted to any
danger in the emitter of foreign itompeti.lon than that
to which they were alresdy expand. Another older
Lion to repeal eau front. Irst the rocitt part; dbe growers
of the best qualities of beau, who darned to think
that It would bring inferior- barleys dour iota sore-
petition with theirs, and redoes the comperatively iljh
pricer they now obtained. There barley, were used in
the cautufectue of the hiebest glued aloe, such as
Alleintel; We's and tinge of °Sher celebrated Irewers.
Thule gentleman brought lip every handful of the fird
,m•laty barleys they amid Wan, whellifie,,nt boa• Or
abroad, and why? Beettlal barleys of that Oahu
only would pesthole the pertinently euellent article
in which they dealt. If 111., Malt T4I were abolish.'
it wetild not enable thou brewers to make superior ale
from inferior *Say, and they *odd rod he likely to
run the risk of Icing their futon sod their high
reputation al producers qf des by fantasias the best
barleys. Bat MI abrapilllon of the pelt dUty woilld
ruble them to tell their ales at C lower piles, the
coosemption of then would be attimeated, wbllh would
increase UM demand for the tested/us barleys, and the
result of that weald be le abuse their pries. They
now obtained the lowest Pion for all arriatinet of
barley—the one article is width they Uvu-
lar catty eliatetid with the foreigner, Is coesequence
of the diminished constundion meough the operation
of the Malt-tax. That was • rated why agri-
culturist., as bushiest men, ought to exert then-
"elves to get the duty revealed. (Applause.)
Fawners had • special claim on the whole community
to be allowed to obtain the superior prices for their
heehl rush they night do the Melt-tax were
abolished. idiot of Iberia remembered that peat
Political struggle carried on in Ratabled 20_ years ago re-
specting the repeal of the den laws. Upon one side
u' re ranged the corn produawsbelievin that Free Trade
would lumen the pries of their commodity, and on the
other band the C 011.11,1,1141 who saw that the abolition of
duties would be to their Weft It was •
Per:lre:he barite, and Vol hi. part he believed (and he
thought nerd of the people of Ragland believed now)
the victory remained at het with that party which had
tbe strongest argument and the 901104141•4 IMMO. The
ism" was that Free Trade policy was adopted, and
whatever party sow bad the reins of Government it
rosopti'ars, Free Trade as its manual policy. Kees the
re peal the 0019 law certain great steps further had
been en In the direction of the removal from trade
all possible fetters and trammels. Looking over the
budgets of Mimi. years, one found that the ustente'
duty on foreign Wear had been ',dud by about •
million sterling, that upon wines to a similar amount,
the tea duty bad experienced a still great., re Motion,
and certain excised. lee of a kind dared/re to the
Malt-tax lied been remitted; lee instep's, those on
bricks, soap, newspaper stamp, paper, hope, he.
Within the lad 10 years so less than 00.003,000 in
taxes had been thee taken off. It wee perfectly wonder-
ful and enough to undue the staged Protectionist
that ever lived, to nark the great benefit" to the whole
eentreueity which had resulted from following the
policy of Free Trod, se well begun. During that period
the vales of our imports and gaped' bad included
from £170,000,000 to I:380,000.000, and the Ituttowt,
la-
stead of being lenened by the rededlop of taxation,
was same seven or eight million sterling
than it was et the time when • Free Trade was
first adopted. Allowing Free Trade wee like letting nun
work with their erred nate off, it let loose the usegies
of • country like ours, and spread prosperity and see-
tentinent in the lard. But the malt duty remained
Keene' ly as it was more than 60 years ago. In 111411
Richard Cobden, the great apostle of Free Tiede, drew
up • demount setting forth what be considered to be
the "'lot which ought to take plan in the fieusial
polley tho country, and is • titter published In
answer to the Matrons of the Wakefield Farmers'
Club a year before the hos. gentleman's lauseted
dune*, be tefened to that document, saying that
every 'hangs be advocated had taken plue,aed in some
ewes the radiation" be proposed had been exceeded,
Ind everythileg due steep the rued of the emit
duty. Erazres lied shave that Kr. Cobden's
nd
aloiAl rrIO right, Ned if sash great header had
lowsfree ludedering of Wale in these emu
I paratividy thlap, how nub peed* Vont
Mae blaming rasiblag ken wades hos AY