The Express.
London, England, 1851-01-02 00:00:00

REPEAL OF THE DUTY ON PAPER.

A meeting of paper manafacturers was held m.
Tuesday afternoon at the Clarence Hotel, Spring Gerdes.,
Mancheeteir, in order to comelier what were could be taken
to secure, in the course sit the next erosion of parliament, the
abolition of the paper duty.
Mr. T. 11. CROMPTON was called to tha than, and said
that at • "meeting held about • month since, be was re-
quested to ascertain, as far es possible, the probability of
getting, is the nest see Ma of parliament, an abolotine
of the paper duty. With this view, he had had inter-
views with lord John Russell, the Chancellor of the
Bechn in, and • great number of leading men, bole In
and out of paliameat, sad of all political sou.
aunts. The rind' of those iwerviews was • conviction
that Da the exertions made by the riblic and the trade, bat
emanating from the latter, would entirely depend whether
they were to sawed is getting this obnoxious tax repealed
or sot Toe neat step he took was to have • circular issued
by the " Ancet4tiim for the Abolition of the 1) try on
raper," which existed in London, and also himself to cone
• pamphlet on the subject, lie did this because he tot
that they could never hope f esteem, ludas they informed
the public of lin true nature of the paper tax, and the
extent to which it affected awe.. every individual in the
community. He bad that day met with an individual who
was commune 1,0001. worth of paper yearly, but who said
he " had not the least id.-1 that paper paid any very series
duty," and was perfectly astounded when he (the chairman)
informed bias that paid nut less than 40 per cent. This
was not all some el. wriptions of paper were toed to the
extent of 120 Off cent. on the cost price. lie believed that
if the public, now almost Moonlit on the subject, were
made fully aware of the nature of the paper duty, not only
woad they be able to secure its speedy repeal, but, in feet,
to mate it • pan of the next budget. ltsey would find in
the public press, he believed, a most powerful organ in
aiding their movement; and through the newspapers, and
other channels, the sasiciatioa in London would take cars
that the bearings of the tax were fully expand to the
public. The paper manufacturen were, of course, the
tint to feel the effects of the tax. A man could not conk
mance snaking paper without first applying to an suns
officer to y his premiers, to number every room in
them, and also to mark, by letter or by slumber, every imple-
ment which he (the atanumeturer) proposed to use. the act
now in force, as amended by committee, was called " A bill to
consolidate and amend the laws for collecting and securing
the duties of excise on paper made in the United Kingdom;
it was passed on the sth Jul 1339, sad contained 69
clauses, • pest number of which were penal. Section
three required paperaisken, before commencing bunaers,to
mike ' • true and perimeter entry in "Fritts g' of all their
mills aid premises, and every implement they used in
the manufacture, flte. "of paper of any deectiption, or
buttooboard, sailboard, pasteboard. or aceleboard," and
to deli en the mine to the excise °teen in whose
the mill and premises might be situated ; in which entry
every " engine, cheat, machine, vat, and press shall be
distinguished by • particular number or letter, or number
and leiter or listen ; ' in default of which, for every ma-
tented mill or implement, the manufacturer shall forfeit
2001, " together with all paper, button.board, tailboard,
pasteboard or sceisboard, and all materials found therein."
A similar penalty was imposed in cue the masks upon the
several things mentioned did not apes with the entry given is,
so that if the number or letters were erased by seadent, the
excise officer could declare the premises as unuttered, and
enforce the penalty of 2001. The chairman proceeded to
read and comment upon section 9, remarking tint under
it the labels issued by the commissioners of excise, to be
seed in the tying up of piper, were made equal in value
to bank notes; as there was • fine of 101. imposed for every
label delivered to any manufacturer, "and for which a
receipt shall not be given, or which shall be cancelied,
ohlverated, or destroyed, sold or dispsed of, or improperly
used, or sot produced or accounted tor," when demanded
by the excise officer. It was often neceeasry to entrust a
*whim: man with 1,000 of those notes at once (non seating
to the nioatietarn 10,0001.), and the manufacturers were
of coarse always in danger, as some of the labels might be
destroyed Of removed through malice, or ev.n through the
iliAbttst negligence or inettestion. By section IS, • period of
b i hours was consumed, after paper wee ready for delivery
iato the market, before the manufacturer could send it out,
is coesequence of the notice required to be given prior Mod
to elapse alter the weighing and charging of it with duty.
This period, daring which the paper was kept in the mill.
wee a loupe one than sou requited fair him to buy the raw
materials in Manchester, send them to his mill, 'manufacture
Paper, sad transport it to any part of the kingdom if he
wen not Muter. dwi b. This regulation crippled the cos-
'unpin of paper to an almost incalculable extant The
thainno, after referricg to other restrictive and peal
dome in the bet, pointed out the extent to which, despite
tee tipilancs of the excise, frauds were eoustaatly bob g
committed, aid said that of this the government was lay
aware, and ocknowledged Um difficulty of collecting the
duty. Seethinee for paper were being man ital., pro-
duct ci nearly Meatiest in their astute that euteemsa
toad ant detect the difference sail told of it ; but all these
Mite allowed to go duty Ina. He himself, within ten days,
plated in the Ma& of • government officer • specimen
Ma new material, whisk the ofaier aakesitatiaely pro-
aremeed to be peMebeard ; bat he would not, nevertheless,
doff_ Is Winans tens of it, although he (the chairman) told
UM Where it wee lying. The chairman next referred to the
Ilinteofobstoirofoons who depended upon the amnia*.