The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-07 00:00:00

TO BREWERS, MERCHANTS, AND
MALTSTERS.-111BERNIA Caimans, Loanom BRIDGE,
BOROUGII, Septemt,er 7,1855.—0 n and alter the 29th inst. the
above will be our Aa.dress, our present temporary Mee is 7, RED
LION-STIIEET, BOROEGLI.

!NEW HOPS.
If you require a few Pockets of New flops, we are promised some
New Farnham, Farnham Countries, Mid. Kent, Weald of Kent, and
Sussex, on Monday next, and shall be happy to execute your com-
mands ; the prices will range from about 51. ss. to 71. 75., and as soon
as the Market is settled for the New Crop, our Representative will
do himself the pleasure of waiting upon you, and we respectfully
solicit your commands.
THE DUTY QUESTION.
The extraordinary universality of an excessive produce of Hops
throughout the Plantations, hasled to an estimated duty never known
from 1524, when Hops were first introduced into this Kingdom, until
now; and for several weeks the generally entertained opinion has
been favourable to a duty of 300,0001, and amongst its supporters
are many of the firms of the large breweries throughout the
Kingdom, who generally contrive to possess the best infor-
mation upon the subject. To the more uninitiated, yet very
interested persons, who make constant inquiries upon this
subject, the deductions for anticipating such a growth will
not prove uninteresting, neither will the exposition of the points on
which those rely who are opposed to such an estimate. Those who
are in favour say that the present unrivalled Plantation is about
57,000 acres (the returns are not yet published), viz. last year's
acreage. 53,823 acres, and about 3,500 acres of additional plant this
year; also, that the general appearances never were CO favourablen-
:
—that the Colegate Plant (a coarse rank croppy oak), grown pri
cipally in the Weald of Kent and Sussex, was never more exten-
sively cultivated, and that the land is in higher cultivation—they
are further induced to back the duty, because in 1826, with an ave-
rage of 50,471 acres, we grew 269,331 duty, and a similar crop on
57,000 acres would be over 300,8001. In 1850 the average was only
43,127 acres, and the duty paid 233,0001., the present acreage, that
year, would have given over 300,0001. duty ; again in 1852, with a
Plantation of 44,157 acre., we grew 244,8601. duty, therefore, had
1852 the benefit of this year's Hop-land, 300,000/. would have been
paid.
The contrary arguments are—that too
ymeatircscarceid,ilt,2islo tankoepnhiflolsr
additionaliacreage ; as for instance, many
were taken as the acre of Hop land, because the custom was to plant
llops 6 feet apart in squares, and as an acre of land contains 43,560
square feet, that quantity divided by six times six gives 1,210 hills ;
but the practice of planting altered—and instead of intervals of six
feet, many planters gave six and a half and seven feet of land
apart, and thus 1,210 hills, which in many instances passed
for an acre in 1826 greatly exceeded it, but now in 1855
the collector of Tithe does not count hills, he takes the statute acre
and hence part of the increased acreage, as shown by the returns ;
they suggest also that too much reliance is placed upon the un-
harvested crop, which is never secure till 'tis bagged, and that if in
all the croppy years since 1808 you take credit for the highest duties
of the best district. only in those respective years, and add them to-
gether, they will fall short of 300,000/. Thus the highest duty ever
paid,
By the Rochester district was in 1847 £99,011
„ Canterbury If 1835 • • 56,910
„ Sussex 11 1819 •••• • • • . 78,525
By the Worcester district was In 1846 ........ 36,082
We believe there was a freak of nature when Worcester once paid
More, but we cannot find the returns.
„ Farnham
e, Kingdom

1854 .. 16,305
1826 8,074

£294,907

We have carefully viewed 'both sides of the question, and our
opinion is joined to those who think 300,000/. will not be realised.
The crop just now is in places visited by mischief—it is to be hoped
it may not extend widely, but red rust and mould are present, and
every accident seriously threatens the duty reaching the much to be
desired goal.—We are, your most obedient servant
WOLTON & CO.