The Express.
London, England, 1850-12-25 00:00:00

REDUCTION OF THE DUTY ON TEA.

(Prom the Liverpool 410 W...)
Whoa we Mar up both the importers and coniumers
of tea to insist upon • redaction of the dot, of that neceseary
of life, we would not be understood to be pleading for its
share in the redaction of taxation which is to take place in
the next session of parliament in consequence of the omit .w
of the revenue. We rest our cue another grounds altogether.
We go upon what was the whirr shim, es long u they
occupied the opposition booths', namely," that the reduction
of • duty on any article is not secessartly a diminution of the
revenue derived from It. It may, ea the contrary, by
stimulating demand and consumption, Increase the amount
of tax paid by it Into the exeltequer." Sir Charles Wood,
indeed, sines he came into owes, has repudiated tide whole-
some doctrine, when asked to apply it to the article of tea,
and his invariably pointed to the gap in his annual receipts
which would be occasioned by it. Bet truth is not the less
truth because 'rudiment who bow to it when they sit on one
side of the House of Commons would ignore it whets they
occepy the other. We still, therefore, believe that to
looses the Write would be no Ices to the revenue,
although the very talk of the experiment shakes the
nerves of Sir Charlie more than an additional spoonful or so
in the teapot would disturb those of any old lady in the land.
And we have • mimes", an unwilling and unexpected one,
and, on that •StOlakt, a mere valuable one, to cell to oar
behalf to day. 'rbe organ of amplest-street, the ministerial
Glebe itself, hes unwittingly pronounced in our behalf, and
turnished us with arguments which we shall not be slow to
wield against its patrons. We will not exactly say, in so
doing, foe at alb hoses doceri; but still it is quite fair to
bombard Downingatrest in such as instance with its own
guns, artillerymen, and ammunition. Well, then, our mild
contemporary, in an article on the finances of the country,
which append • few (hyaena", thus wrote most powerfully
la oar favour :—" The great Inman in the consumption of
tea, in pardeular, has taken place sines the reduction of
price effected by the opening of the trade, on the equation
of the Bast India Company's monoply in 1833; and from
about the wine period the consumption of molt has fallen
toff. Very little variation has taken place in the malt
duty from 1817 to the present time. From that date
to about 1835 there was a slow increase in the quantity
charged, varied only by fluctuations in the supply end price
of barley, sad other like temporarrinfisences. In 1836 the
quantity charged (in the United Kingdom) was 40,131,000
bushels. Bat at this time the effect of cheep tea was bogie-
Eng to be generally felt. I.s 1831, under the old ad ealowees
duties, the quantity of tm aoristuned is the United Kingdom
was nearly 30,000,000 pounds. In 1837, uader duties nearly
the lama 1111 thou levied SW since, it Wan still only 31,800,000
posses. But in 1849 it had 'Sea to upwards of 60,000,000
pounds. And in the same year the malt charged was seder
38,090,000 bushels, or fully fire per cent. less than it bad
been fifteen years before." These are most important and
irresistible arguments. They perform work for us. We
have suiting to do bat to walk into the armoury thee pro-
vide d for is, and to take up the trespass forged in the miate-
Serial fins. and welded into shape en the ministerial anvil.
We might almost say, attar reading these statemeuts end ad-
missions, that we did not know how good and strut • one
we bad until it was set forth by the opposing counsel for as.
Is the first plies, we aretold that, is consequence of the
monopoly of the tea trade held by the But India Company
helms throw. open, toe has become oboripee, and that, la a
result.( this elbispases, tie sonsmaption ha. imam d fr ■
something ander thirty millions to upwards of fifty minims
of pounds per encase.
Let our merchants epproult the Chancellor with this con-
cession made ly his own organ. It establishes all which
they want to prove. It provide" the exact premises which
they are most anxious to have for the conclusion at which
they arrive. It as a well known fact that the quantity of
tea yet need by the poor is something miserably and laugh-
ably small, and that it is suable of being increased Owe%
ad infinifuns. But how is this to be brought about I By
cheapness again. If the reduction in price caused by com-
petition in the trade has added twenty millions of pound',
or Dearly nailed, to the yearly consumption, we have
surely a right to assume that • farther diminution in
price by • partial removal of the duty would pet.-
duce • similar result. The high pries still kept up
by the heavy tax is the barrier to a greater consumption.
Reduce the one and you will increase the other. The people
are quite oldies to indulge in their favourite beverage as •
reality, instead of the diluted mockery whisk they now get.
A good or a strong cup of tee is still u•knowa on the MOW
of the cottager.
But the ministerial organ, in 'Ulan to its statement of
the effect of cheapness, furnishes us with a seeood argument,
of a moral cheramer. It informs us that the constuaptioa of
malt tells off ea that of tea increases, so that the advocates of
the reduction of the duty on the latter sniele ere the advo-
cates of temperate' against intemperance. What is this
but giving us • farther motive to spur as on to greater seal
sad efforts in our advocacy of • policy at once so beneficial to
the people without being detrimental to the revenue ? Ws
as hardly think that, after such admissions made in such a
quarter, the Chancellor will persist in withholding an expo
darn% wham praises have been thus sung by anticipation in
the columns of a print supposed to be in the confidence of the
government.
A little peeling will now, e e opine, carry the
point. The leagues. of the Globe certainly looks more like
an anxiety to secure an lamentable retreat thane wish to gain
another unsatisfactory and damsons victory.
fol,reover it must be recollected that, although we oaly
dwell to-day upon the two arguments sat forth by the
ministerial organ, we do not forego one of the other
reasons which might be adduced in favour of the reduction
of a tax which would give such an impetus to the extensioa
of our dads with China. Its good effects would be beyond
all calculation. They would be felt in every grid., from the
highest to the lowest, In the msnufecturing end mercantile
world, as well by the porter on the dock quay as by the mer-
chant prince la his counting house. A alumina to trade
throbs through every nerve of the body onion eclat, and the
life blood which is sent through Its main arteries circulates
also healthfully through the smaller veins which flow to its
eitremities. In plain English, ea we have said on • former
occasion, an expansion of the tea trade means more work for
Manchester, more work for Liverpool, more ships, more
',Won, more of everybody, and more for everybody. dad
this, if we may believe the ministerial organ, may be mom-
plished without lees to the revenue, and with great advan-
tage to the cause of temperance and sobriety. If this is not
hint enough on which to meet and petition, then we do not
understand language. It is more like "ask and have" than
anything which we have heard for • very long time.

MOSNoNITE MICKEL—A wretched looking object,
mad 01107111 Wood, a Mormoaite preacher, was brought
before the Rev. B. F. White, at Stanway, on Saturday,
charged with stealing certain theta, blankets, and other
articles, the property of George Smite, of ()remota, sad—
worst part of all—with enticing away complainant's wife. The
oompleinant, a little old was, scarcely four feet high, stated
that some time back his wife left him. taking with har various
articles, his property, of which the blankets, Re., produced
were part. He au oteded fa icicles the faithless umlaut to
rainswick, where he found her living with in. pprisoner,
the articles in question beteg in their poseeadoa, He
at ones obtained a policeman, Leto whom charge he
gave the prisoner, who was accordingly removed to
this flue in a cart, together with ihe frail rah one.
Stain a articles, and a bed Waving to the Firmer Ths
eomplainant, who mead to care non about the recovery of
hie " dear Sarah " (as he called hie wife) sadists " goods sad
chattels" than aught beside, dallied to preeseute. The ere
was therefore dismimed, and the primmer, who bad bean
grumbling sorely throughout, at once " took up kis bed and
walked "—in other words, he robed his bed apes his heed
and at once traded off towards his home (Upten-culievess),
sixteen miles distant, through all the rain and dirt. It wm
most mutes (says our correepoadent) to hear the ammunt
given by the driver of the ear which brought them from
Painsuch of the conversation. which took place on the toed
between the complalitut and his wife and the primes.
Sadie did nothing but " Dear Sarah" his wife, and coax her
to come back and live with him, while the, on the other
hand, continued to threaten how she would serve him If he
dared to have her seducer sent to prisos.—Cheffenheass I'
Junsal.
A Botta' EXPLOSION, attended with the leer et
two lives, occurred ow Wedowstay lest at the Crow TINS
Colliery, a few miles from the Sty el Dunham. The hellos%
a which there are three, of largo vim, wore shed* sr
'mined only about ea boor Oates, whew the wile tem&
dared perfectly eats, mad ere dame was up to
OM period whoa the mph:eke took Oa* et the
boilers wit digdseat sad Mims to a Mamie of wetly WM
husked yente.—Lieetreei Steredird.