The Express.
London, England, 1862-07-05 00:00:00

THE MALT DUTY.

Mr. BALL roes to ;alit; attention of the house to the
continuance of the oppressive duty upon malt, and in doing
so said they bed latterly bad some able discussions upon the
expenditure of the country, and he thought the speeches
which hail emanated from the right hon. gentleman the
member for Buckinghamshire would create a great deal of
good. He believed that • feeling had sprung up throughout
the country that they had an expenditure which ought no
longer to be tolerated and was wholly unnecessary, and
that the government had been driven to it by apprehensions
which were not substantial. The house might reduce that
expenditure with advantage to the country, and if they were
to abridge the revenue the expenditure would be lut down
to meet it. If the house were to vote 80,000,0004 the go-
vernment would expend it. He did not know anythag
that claimed the attention of the government more strongly
than a reduction of this duty. The agriculturists had never
received that fair amaidaration of their claims which was
promised before the repeal of the cote-laws.
The CHANCELLOk of the EXCHEQUER said the hon.
member had stated with great fairness reasons against the
continuance of the duty on malt ; still he bail in dealing
with the subject overlooked some of the most important
cousideratioes of the melt duty. When the hon. gentle-
man explained that there had been no great increase in the
consumption of malt it was only fair that be should state
the fact that during the last .10 years the people of this
country had consumed lees strong liquors than in former
years, and that during that period the consumption of wine
tad been stationary, and that of spirits had receded. To
test the consumption of barley they must take the average
price of the article, and so far from barley having been un-
duly ground down by taxatioa, the increase of price was more
marked on barley than onany other grain. That wasoonclusive
that barley was not unduly taxed, biomass if it had
been, the price would have diminished instead of increased.
There was another test. How was malt treated as com-
pared with other strong liquors ? It was trotted with greet
mildness. The tax upon alcohol in beer was at the rate of
2s. per barrel, upon alcohol in wine it was from 4s. to 75.,
sod on spirita at the rate of 10s. or 10t. 6d. per gallon.
Again, malt had received further advantages from recent
legislation. There bad been a remission of duty in Scotland,
and while other duties on competing articles had been in-
creased in England, the duty on malt had remained sta-
tionary. In former years the duty on spirits in Ireland was
2a. Bd., in Scotland about Is. Bd., and in England 7s. •
gallon, but it was now 10a. in the three kingdoms. (Hear,
hear.) The effect of this alteration had caused a
considerable reduction in the consumption of spin*
and an increase in the consumption of beer. (Hear, bear.)
The hon. gentleman's proposal to transfer the tax: from
malt to beer was attractive at first sight ; but it was a
mistake to suppose that it would be any great boon to the
brewer ; because at present it was the meltater, and not he,
that was liable to the survey of the Excise. As regarded
the revenue, it would be • most formidable change to re-
move the survey from the 10,000 inalleten to the 40,000
brewers. No doubt • strong case would be made ous even
for such • change if it could be shown that malt was more
valuable than barley for the purpose of feeding cattle.
(Hear, hear.) That question had received the most careful,
practical, and scientific investigation, and he (Hr. Glad-
stone) spoke without fear of contradiction when he asserted
that the result was unfavourable to the use of malt in the
manner sugginted. His bon. friend talked of foreign com-
petition. The competition of what! Not of foreign malt,
because it was admitted that the foreign maltater could not
compete with the English ; not in meat, because ever ADP
that competition bad commenced the price of meat had
been steadily tending upwards. (Hear, hear.) Yet his boa
friend in lugubrious tones and with a perfectly grave cone-
tenanee—(a laugh)—complained of the position of two agri-
cultural products—barley, which bad been constantly rising
in price, and meet, which had become the mainstay of Bri-
tishagriculture. (Hear, hear.) Let not his hon. friend run
away with the notion that • reduction of taxation alwaye
meant an increase of consumption. No doubt in judiciously
selected instances that had proved to be the case ; but it
Rust not be regarded as a mathematical axiom. His hon.
friend bad now discharged his duty to his constituents and
to his conscienoe, and no man felt that duty press more
heavily upon him ; but he (the right hoe. gaidentaa) hoped
that it would be unnecessary to continue the dimwits
further. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. SPOONER bore testimony, from personal experience,
to the valuable properties of malt for feeding cattle. He
bad no doubt that it was far superior to barley for that
Purpose. (Hear, hear.)
ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS.
Sir .7. SHELLEY suggested that the law relating to also.
trio telegraphs should be amended. He believed that the
right bon. gentleman (Mr. Y. Gibson) bad a bill prepared
on the subject, arid he hoped that it would sesoonbetatrat
ducal.