The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-04-05 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OP THE BRITISH PRESS.

St rt,—The attention of cur Government has of late been muck
and most laudably infected to improvements in the prireplea of
our legislation upon commercial subjects; but it appears tome that
in first directing their atteetion to our foreign in place of cur home
trade, they arc giving an undue importance, in public estimation,
to the less valuable branch of commerce. In the home trade all
the profits and all the advantages resulting frau: it, remain with
British subjects ; an it is also sith the mute carried on with tbe
British Colonies; but not so in the foreign trade, in which, in
moat case., if not in all, one half of those bent .is must remain
with thefiweign nation. It would have been wiser therefore tokens
attended first to that, in the prolittity of whim we are non inn.
tested, and from the profit of which we derive the whole advantage.
In many respects the home trade, particularly in the intercourse
between England, Scotland, and Ireland, is in a most anomalous
state; and in no part of it mores° than sa what relates to the article
of Spir its, and the trade of DistWation, to which my attention has
been attracted by some of the recent discussion in Parliament.
In England the duty on home-made spirits is les. fid. per gallon.
at 7 per cent. above hydrometer proof; in Scotland and Ireland it
is only 2s. per gallon. at hydrometer ;woof. From Ireland spirits
may be sent to England, on paying the difference of duty, and
may be then rectified and add as gin, or any other compound, are.
cording to the taste of the consumers. But since the reduction of
duty, the regular distillers in InExaxis have found full employ.
ment for their capital in supplying their own market, which is no
longer supplied by the illicit distiller; the profit to be obtained
under the present duty not being equal to the risk. Tba StoTcft
distiller, however, is placed in a very different situation; as the law
now stands, no distillery that may hare been workirg in Seabed
for home consumption, preceding the Ist of October, of any year,
can be entered to work for the Eaglish market. The effect of this
law is, that the works must remain idle for a whole year, Wore
they can be used to distil for the English market ; and this con-
trivance, so oppressive in its result, is not required for the protee.
tion of the revenue, but has evidently been adopted for the benefit
of those distillers who have enjoyed, for the last twenty years, led
who still enjoy, the monopoly of Me English mark,!.
This monopoly is now in the hands of Ira distilling establish-
ments in flee LASH. and dice in 2.COTLAND, wino wink for the
English market. They have secured it by the aid of this must
unjust and unjus itiable regulation ; and from their immense pro.
fits already realised under it, it becomes dangerous to compete with
them. They have hitherto succeeded in tweriNg oppairi,,,, at
'an expense, as is supposed, of not less than 160,0001. ; but this
purchase money, exorbitant as it appears, is a trifle compared with
their enormous annual profits, whin enable them speedily to
reimburse it.

These monopolists meet and arbitrarily fix the price of their
commodity, to the manifest injury both of the consumer and of the
revenue. They charge, at present, 15s. lid. per gallon, including
the duty of 10s. 6d. ; thus eructing a monopoly pr.fil of at ham
Is. fid. per gallon, Droned a fair profit on their capitol, which, on
5,000,000 gallons is 337,e00 sterling ! a tolerably handsome bonus
to be divided among
.efteen distillers ! This may appear to be
overcharged; let any uhe who thinks it so atterd to the followirg
fact; it is well known that a qesrter of barley, of fair quality,
yields twenty gallons of spirit, that die proportion of malt duty is
less than three-peiter ter gallon; and that the expense', Meer allow.
ing for the value of the grains and wash, ought not to exceed wine-
pence per gallon: it is easy, therefore, for any one to calculate their
profits, which, in truth, hare neither check nor limit, except what
their prudence may impose upon their cupidity.
In corroboration of this calculation, one of the five Scotch distil-
, lees, who Meets for the Scotch as well as for the English market,
is at this time selling in Scotland spirits which yield him only three
shillings and three pence per gallon, exclusive of spirit duty, but
including 3d. small duty; while for what he sends to England he
gettefiee shillings per gallon, exclusive of any duty, except the pro-
pnrtion of malt duty, which in this article may be not more than
2d. per gallon.
This monopoly, moreover, not only operates against the coa-
sumer* of spirits, by raising their price, but also against the reve-
nue, by diminishing their consumption ; and, in • double rain,
against the landed interest, since it not only diminishes the con-
sumption of barley ; but these fifteen distillers come into the barley
market as use awn, which must have a must injurious effect upon
the price. Their system admits of ro competition among them.
selves, as they not only regulate the price of their spirits to the
public, but alse the quantity that is to be brought to market by
each of their respective establishments.
It is astonishing that these FIFTEEN DISTILLED, should for so
many years have contrived to persuade the laeded interest and the
Treasury that the Revenue and the price of barley are benefited by
such a system; hut it is to be hoped that Perlianent w.II in time
discover the advantage of fair and open competicioa in die art and
mystery of distillation, as well as in the cases of desks • id menu.
factures, and every subject or commercial distillers,
however, are at all time. alive mei wakeful to their own interest, as
appeared lately on the proposal to admit RED to be rectified; when,
by means of the influence they have acquired over the opinions of
the landed interest, a clamour was commenced which had an in.
stantaneous effect upon his Majesty's Ministers. But had this
subject been more fully investigated, it would have been discovered
that the admission of rum to rectificatiou would not hove had much
effect upon the price of Nulty, for tae distillers already keep that
as low as they can in their competition in the barley market with
the brewers, but would inertly herr.: produced a fall in the price of
British Spirits to the advent...lp of the public, and a favourable
effect on the Revenue by the ri lice of part of the prescn t exotbi :ant
profits of fifteen distillers. Even should the price of barley fur a
time fall a few beelines, the landed interest would in the end
benefit by the increased number of purchasers which would be die
consequence of breaking up the present distilling monopoly; and
surely the lI'EST lama CtiLo,ilEs are of sufficient importance
to the: shipping manufacturing interests, and hence colleteraly to
the landed interest also, t 3 mint some consideration when in corn.
petition with the interest of fifteen monopolizing distillers! The
Scotch distillers, who are not of the " fifteen," express no jealousy
of the admiseion of runt to rectification: on the coterary, I have the
best authority for assuring the public that all they desire is a free
trade in spirits, and such regulations as will admit of their being
manufactured of the best duality.
Both the English distillers and the West Jrdiaas, however,
have much to complain of in respect to the great reduction of the
duties on corn spirits in Scort.axn and IRELAND. The duties
on turn remain unaltered in these parts of the kingdom, and of
course the consumption is at an end; and all the north of Eirgkrd
is supplied with spirits noregiekel into this country front dr Scottish
border, to the manifest irjury of the revenue of the English dis-
tiller and the importer of rum. It to contrary to every priori* of
political economy and of financial justice, to have a different rate
of taxation on the sante article in ditlerer.t parts of the kingdom ;
and the attempt will ale ays lead to smuggling, and to the corm-
quent corruption teethe sober and moral habits of the envie. One
uniform duty ought, in equity, to be fixed, and a free trade in
spirits allowed, whether manufectured in England, in Scotland, in
Ireland, or in the Went India 'Mimics. It is as injurious in prac-
tice as it is indefensible in principle, to prevent any Scotch died!.
ler from sending his spirits to England ; or to deity to the Wm
India planter permission to reprise his rum by the superior
science of the English distiller or rectifier. It would not, in fed,
be a whit more unreasimable to prohibit him from refining ht
sugar, and thus to compel tin, the coesumers, to eat it In its raw
state, with all its impurity, and with all its refuse.
I willingly give his Majesty's present 31inisters credit for the
liberality which they have of late displayed on subjects connected
with the trade and comeerce of the country; but I wish, as I said
in the commencement., to see them direct their attention more
pointedly to what concerns our home trade—the only ore which
secures the prosperity of the state; in doing this they will not fail
to convince themselves of a fart of which rite public have long bees
well satisfied, that the present monopoly system of sp:rit dealing is
hostile to the interest of the community—hostile to the interim of
the Revenue—and hostile, iii a word, to every interest but the in-
terest of the fifteen distillers who so enorntously ar.d exclueiedy
profit by it. I ant, h.ir, &e.
A LOOKER-ON.