The Press.
London, England, 1855-05-19 00:00:00

Next on high political reasons :

A commercial agent would unavoidably become, from the
time of his creation, a political agent. To the extension
of our political relations beyond the Indus there appears to
me to be great objections. From such a course 1 should
expect the probable occurrence of embarrassments and wars,
expensive and unprofitable at the least, without any equi-
valent benefit, if not ruinous and destructive.

The appointment of an agent at Caubul would of itself
almost amount to an interference in the political affairs of
Afghanistan. It would be a sort of declaration in favour of
the chief whose power is established at Caubul, in prefe-
rence to his rivals at Candahar, Pesbawur, and other places.
And, lastly, he sums up with vigorous pre.
eibion

As a commercial measure, I consider the one proposed
to be unnecessary; as a political one undesirable; and,
therefore, on the whole objectionable.

The power of taking large views, and the
faculty of coming close to the subject, can only
be shown in minds of large calibre trained to
special knowledge. The most penetrating
intellect requires familiarity with the subject
before it can pronounce decisively. A facility
for generalisation becomes dangerous unless
there be systematic regard to fact. A shadowy
policy evolved from nebulous intellects must
always end in complications.
It is obvious that in the formation of any
" Administrative Reform " it will be useful to
look to the r esults of the system under which
our Indian functionaries have been chosen.
At present many think that talent is smothered
in our public offices, and that there is no
career for talent. Hence that all our gifted
" adventurers " take to the bar, to commerce,
to railway speculations, and even to literature.
'thus the public service is debilitated and
deprived of "new blood." We are now suffer-
ing from what Lord Metcalfe called " the worst
economy," as stated in our second extract.
We commend this volume to all persons who
like to study State papers, in which the prac-
tical sense of a man of the world is joined to
the speculative sagacity of a philosophical
statesman. To the general reader, of course,
this volume will not be " interesting," but no
" Indian library " should be without it.

SATURDAY,

Wine : Its Use and Taxation. An Inquiry into,
the Operation of the Wine Duties on Con-
sumption and Revenue. By Sir James
Emerson Tennent, K.C.S., LL D., &c. L.
don: Madden.
UNDER the above title we obtain the result of
those inquiries into the operation of the
English wine duties which the accomplished
writer has steadily pursued with all the
resources of his extensive information. While
he is careful to disclaim any importance which
others may attach to his conclusions on the
ground of his official position, and proffers
them, in fact, solely as his individual opinions,
they have, nevertheless, that accurate and
authentic impress which is only attainable by
persons privileged like himself. Many of our
readers will probably remember that Sir
Emerson Tennent was a most efficient member
of that Committee of the House of Commons
which was appointed to consider this subject
in 1852 ; and, as that Committee recorded no
collective opinion for the guidance of the
Legislature, the materials it afforded, coupled
with the facilities which the writer has
subsequently enjoyed, are now worthily ap-
plied to the solution of a fiscal problem. Can
we to any considerable extent reduce the tax
upon wine with advantage to the consumer
and with safety to the revenue ? This is the
question to which, with every desire to be able
to respond affirmatively at some happier
season, the writer has been nevertheless driven
to the conclusion that, even under better
auspices, the difficulties in the way of reduc-
tion are little short of insurmountable.
It is a singular fact in the history of the
wine duties to how slight an extent they have
influenced consumption; indeed, we find that
the successive alterations in their scale appear
to have had anything but a similar effect to
that which has ordinarily followed the like
dealings with other commodities Sir Emerson
Tennent has abundantly illustrated this cir
cumstance with its important bearings on the
question of revenue. Mr. Pitt made three
great financial experiments upon these duties.
In 1788 he reduced them from Bs. 9d. per
gallon on French, and 4s. 2fd. on Portuguese,
wines to 4s. 6d and 3s. respectively ; the re-
sult was, that the consumption rose 83 7-10ths
per cent., while only 49 1-10th per cent. was
added to the revenue on an average of the
eight years succeeding the experiment. In
1795 he again raised these duties to some-
thing approaching the scale from which he had
reduced them in 1786 ; and even these rates
in the year following ho raised to 10s. 2d. and
6s. 91d. respectively. The result was indeed
" striking, for the consumption, taking au
" average of the five or six years following,
" underwent no very serious reduction, but the
" revenue increased to an extraordinary
" amount." The reduction in consumption
was only 17f per cent., while the increase in
revenue was as much as 80 per cent. Again,
between 1801 and 1805, the wine duties were
further raised under war exigencies to the
extremely high rate of 13s. 81d. on French,
ani 9s. lid. on Portuguese, wines, and the
result was even more extraordinary still, for
in 1806 the consumption had increased together
with the revenue. Even in 1807, with a duty
threefold higher than that of the year pre-
ceding the war, the consumption was within
580,000 gallons of being equal to that of 1792,
under the lowest scale ; while the revenue,
which under the low duty had been but
1,148,755/. in 1792, rose under the high duty to
2,729,8871. in 1807. Again, the important
reductions of Lord Ripon in 1825 were not
satisfactory in a financial point of view, and
did not even stimulate consumption to the
extent anticipated. The equalisation of the
duties on French and Portuguese wines in
1831, involving a slight additional tax on the
gross import, affected revenue far more than
consumption, but affected neither to a very
large amount. The additional 5 per cent. in
1840 had proportionally a greater effect upon
both ; while from a summary of all these
operations combined we obtain this remarke.bhi
aggregate :—Whereas, during the twenty-six
years of high duties prior to 1825 the average
annual consumption was 5,575,160 gallons, and
the revenue 2,259,800/. ; from 1825 to 1851,

MAY 19, 1855.

under low duties, notwithstanding the increase
of population and wealth, the average annual
consumption was not more than 0,474,029
gallons, and the revenue 1,727,6441. In other
words, the decrease of revenue has been 24.5
per cent., whilst the increase of consumption
has been only 15.6 per cent. Sir Emerson
Tennent further remarks that the highest
amount of revenue has been invariably realised
at the highest rate of duty, and that inter
mediate reductions, so far from uniformly
replenishing the public income, have, in the
majority of instances, failed to replace the
amount of duty surrendered.
With these data, which are tabulated and
discussed most elaborately and appositely,
how then can we entertain the proposal which
some have ventured to broach for a reduction
of the wine duties to less than a fifth of their
present amount; or what shall we think of
the financial wisdom of Mr. Gladstone, who
presumed to coquet with such an extravagant
proposal? Sir Emerson Torment, allowing
that an ad valorem duty is unattainable, shows
that, to compensate revenue, consumption
must be stimulated sixfold, and he examines
in detail the facts which militate against this
most improbable hypothesis. Where is the
wine to come from even when the wine disease
has abated, and all the wines adapted to the
English market have, after the interval which
must necessarily elapse, been cultivated to
the utmost extent possible? As M. Thiers
remarked in 1850, and as the French Emperor
has since stated to the petitioners of Bour-
deaux, no reduction of duties will induce the
English people to drink generally the thinner
class of wines—wines not equal to their beer,
yet at their lowest cost exceeding it in price.
At the present moment, even taking into
account champagne, 86 per cent. of the wine
consumed in England consists of port, sherry,
and marsala; and national tastes must be
overcome, as well as nature exhausted, to raise
the consumption to the requisite standard. A
more remarkable impediment must be met in
th 3 fact that with the increase of population
the use of wine of any kind has by no means
increased, and the same quantity has sufficed
for the twenty-seven millions of consumers
between 1840 and 1855 as for twenty-five
millions between 1825 and 1840. We are daily
becoming less of a wine-drinking people ; and
while the consumption of tea, coffee, cocoa,
and tobacco, have increased gradually, but
enormously, our individual consumption of
wine has as gradually ebbed downwards, even
cinder a scale of reduced duties Thus, from
1791 to 1800 the ratio of bottles to each person
per annum was 2 5-10ths ; in 1851 it was 1
.3-10ths; so little encouragement is there
for experiments on the national palate, or
prospect of inducing John Bull to increase
.his allowance of the grape.

Even supposing that the calculated increase
In the consumption of wine were possible, the
question remains, is it to be calculated on in
addition to the present consumption of beer,
spirits, and cider, or is it to supersede in the
same proportion the present consumption of
those articles? In the former case we must
take into account the demoralisation which
would keep pace with the augmented use of
Intoxicating stimulants. In the latter we have
to consider the further consequences to the
revenue. The reduction of the excise tax on
British spirits, and the abolition of the malt
tax, are the just and admitted corollary of this
increased competition. British spirits would, in
deed, have to be relieved for another reason, that
wine would be imported at its low duty for the
purpose of distillation. And then upon what
plea could we retain the present rate of duties
upon colonial spirits, or would it be tolerated
that we should give this direct and obvious
preference to the foreigner? Disturb the
present arrangement, says Sir Emerson Ten-
neat, and our entire system of taxation on
fermented and spirituous liqours must be re-
adjusted. And what is the gross amount with
which we should be thus tampering? Up•
wards of nineteen millions ! Speaking loosely,
nearly one-half the imperial revenue of Eng-
land. Here is a little item for the pensive
theories and playful experiments of Messrs.
Oliveira and the late Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer.

THE PRESS.

Sir Imerson Tennent has considered inci-
dentally to this vast question the probable
effect of minor modifications of these duties,
and his conclusions, though open to discussion,
are equally founded on the comprehensive
survey which, as we indicate, he has taken.
It may sound strange in these times to be
discussing any remission of duties whatever;
and distant enough may be the day in which
these financial warnings may practically come
home to us. But our author has, neverthe-
less, performed excellent service in putting
them upon record. It is essential to the pro
sperity of the wine trade that settled views
should prevail as to the proper mode of dealing
with it, neither seller nor consumer being
willing to invest in wines when their value is
presumed to be liable to diminution. To set
agitation at rest by timely inquiry is a work
for which many will be thankful, and by which
a greater number will benefit. It may abash
certain financial experimentalists, or sanguine
growers of untried vintages, to learn before.
hand the obstacles in their way. But it will
confirm the judgment of the public by endors•
ing the views of our most eminent statesmen.
This essay does, inffact,justify the apprehensions
expressed by Sir Robert Peel when reconstruct-
ing the British tariff in 1842, and the still more
emphatic declaration of Mr. Disraeli when
Chancellor of the Exchequer, that "no Go-
" vernment which was ever likely to exist in
" this country would entertain the project of
" reducing the import duty on wine to one
" shilling per gallon." It discounts some
crude hopes and ambiguous biddings for popu-
larity by teaching us what we may expect, and
in whom we may confide.

A Tar of the Last War. Being the Services and
Anecdotes of Sir Charles Richardson, K.8.C.,
Vice-Admiral of the White. By the Rev. C. E.

Armstrong, M.A. London : Longmans.
A FRIENDLY memoir of ono of our gallant heroes of
the last war. Sir Charles Richardson entered the
navy in 1787, and literally fought his way up to dis-
tinction and rank, for he had but few powerful
friends to patronise and help him on. He served
almost uninterruptedly throughout the whole of the
last war, and was present at several of the great
naval actions fought in those days ; but the event of
his life, and one which his biographer tells us Sir
Charles never forgot, was his personally taking De
Winter prisoner at the battle of Camperdown, a de-
tailed account of which is given in these memoirs.
The following sketch of Sir Charles and his old
coxswain in their latter days recalls My Uncle Toby
and Corporal Trim :
The captain had a favorite coxswain, named " Bob,"
who had retired from the service with a good pension and
a wooden leg. He always spent some months of the year
with his old commander, whose life had been saved, at the
battle of Alexandria, by Bob's cutlass warding off certain
death. The first of June, Lord Howe's victory, Camper-
down on the 11th of October. and the other days which
commemorated triumphs in which Sir Charles took a
part, were observed with due honour. The admiral ap-
peared in full uniform ; the Flushing cannon were polished
np, and the flagstaff in front of the house was covered with
trophies taken from the enemy, while Bob thundered
forth his innocent broadsides at the church steeple. The
old sailor was an inimitable pattern of obedience to his com-
manding officer, and watched his countenance for a kind
look as much as a faithful dog does that of his master. He
never contradicted the admiral, but had always the same
ready answer—" Yes, sir " to whatever was said to him,
although the reply was often so misplaced as to call forth
the ire of the person to whom it was given. He had
raised and rigged out a high mast, and half a dozen times
in the day he might be seen hurrying up the rope ladders,
making signals, and altering the flag, at the stentorian
word of command from his captain. The next minute he
came down like a cat, and stumped away to the battery,
where the guns came in for a share of his attention, since
be considered himself part owner, from being one of the
captors.

An interesting anecdote is also told of the gallant
Admiral's knighthood :
On that occasion, the sword with which the Queen per-
formed the ceremony was accidently forgotten, and never
remembered until the moment when it was required. In
this dilemma the Duke of Wellington unbuckled his own
sword, and, presenting it to her Majesty, observed :
" Admiral Richardson will not object to mine being used
to confer the merited honour of knighthood."
The book is well suited to the times. Such records
of the gallant deeds of a generation scarcely passed
away, and still within our own recollection, prove
most engaging to young minds ; and this memoir
of "A Tar of the Last War" may advantageously
find a place in every midshipman's sea-chest.

4'79

Sharpe's Handbook for the Rail. Loudon :

A GUIDK-BOOK for the rail adapted to passengers
who may de-,ire to know something of the country
through which they pass. It does not pretend to
rival Bradshaw, or any other kind of time-tables, as
it gives no information respecting the departure of
trains or their fares, but it is, as described in the
preface, " an adaptation of the old road-book to the
" new system of locomotion, with this advantage,
" that the mileage being laid down to a uniform
" scale, the road side or tabular portion of the work
"is almost equivalent to a map." Thus, as the line
runs in the centre of each page, and the villages
and towns to the right and left are indicated, the
traveller can see at a glance at what station it may
be most convenient for him to stop. Some informa-
tion is appended on places of most note in connection
with each line. For the convenience of purchasers,
the book is in two divisions, one containing lines
west of the parallel of London, and south of the
Thames; the other lines to the east and north. The
plan is good, but the details might with advantage
be more elaborated and greater completeness be
given to them. As it is, however, the book is a groat
improvement upon any railway-book we have yet
seen, and from its nature may be permanently
useful.