The Sun.
London, England, 1830-01-14 00:00:00

REPEAL OF THE MALT DUTY.

A numerous meeting of the Maltsters and others
was held a few nights since at the Corn Exchange,
London, at which a petition was adopted, to be pre-
sented to the House of Commons, praying for the
repeal of the duty on Malt.
The petition states that the Maltsters, in common
with every other class, are suffering under a taxa-
tion, the principal cause of which appeared to be
the enormous national debt contracted in a paper
currency, the interest of which is now exacted prin-
cipally in metallic currency. The petition went on to
state, that the expences of the army and navy were
thus increased from 3,700,0001. a year to upwards
of 14,000,0001.; the civil list from 900,000/. to
3,500,000/. a year ; and in fact, the whole expen-
diture of the country had increased within the last
38 years from 15,000,0004 to about 60,000,000/. a
year. While the currency had been limited, all
places, pensions, sinecures, &c. remained the same;
and while the price of land had advanced more than
two-fold, rents had not been reduced, though paid
in the same limited currency. The petitioners
hoped that no return to an issue of Bank paper
would be made. The petitioners hoped that the
public expenditure would be reduced, and that those
taxes which pressed most heavily upon the labour li
-
ing classes, and in particular on farmers and agricul-
tural labourers, now the most distressed people in
the kingdom, would be taken off. The petitioners
prayed that the first act of the Legislature would
be the total abolition of the Malt Acts, which would
give relief to the farmer and the labourer, enabling
them to drink excellent home-brewed beer at 6d.
a gallon, instead of paying, as at present, Gd. a pot
for beer, and would restore those happy days when
farmers, labourers, and others, brewed their own
beer, and seldom knew the taste of gin. The con-
sumption of barley would be increased one-fourth,
viz., about 2,000,000 of quarters annually. About
5,000,000 additional acres of barley land would thus
be brought into cultivation, and one of the most
obnoxious and oppressive Acts of Parliament would
be done away with—that for preventing the making
of malt in the Maltster's own way. The petitioners
could not refrain from recommending a revision of
the church property, by which princely incomes of
30,0001. and 40,000/. a year were drawn by mitred
Lords from the earnings of a starving population,
the people now being called upon to pay 8,000,000/.
a year in church and poor-rates. The petitioners
implored the House to take these propositions into
its serious consideration, and to repeal immediately
the Malt Act.
The petition having been signed, the Meeting
adjourned.
-

Copenhagen presents a great variety of cos-
tume. The female inhabitants of the neighbouring island
of Amarr, who are descendants of Dutch settlers, still
preserve their ancient and grotesque dresses, carrying with
them such loads of clothing that the human form is com-
pletely lost in their cumbersome woollen garments. The
French mcdcs are usually adopted among the wealthier
classes; in fact, if a stranger were suddenly deposited in
any of the great theatres or public place of Europe, he
would certainly not he able to distinguish one country
from another. The Danish language is insufficient for
daily intercourse with the world, though it is sweet, and
rich, and graceful ; so very well-bred persons speak some
other tongue—generally German, but frequently English
and French.