The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-23 00:00:00

THE DITTIES ON GRAIN.

A meeting was held yesterday, at the Corn
Exchange Subscription Rooms, Seething-lane, for
the purpose of considering the proposed alteration
in the levying of duties on grain from measure to
weight. Mr. W. S. Lindsay, M.P., occupied the
chair, and the attendance was very numerous.
. The CHAIRMAN, in opening the business, explained

that at the meeting previously held at the Baltio
Coffeehouse, it was determined that the freight
should be paid in future by the quarter, as hereto-

fore. It was also thought desirable that under these
circuu.stances the duties should be paid by weight,
and he communicated to the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, in forwarding him a report of the proceed-
ings of the meeting, that a deputation would be
happy to wait upon him to discuss the question at
any time he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer)
might think proper to appoint. The following day
the right hon. gentleman replied that he had re-

ferred the matter to the Commissioners of Customs,
and their report, he presumed, was favourable from
the communication he (the chairman) had received
from the Treasury, stating the matter would be con-
sidered, and requesting those interested to furnish
him with a table of the scale of duties proposed to
be substituted for those at present in operation, and
which must provide against any loss to the revenue.

Mr. COVENTRY said that the resolution he had to
propose was as follows 'that it is the opinion
of this meeting that the present system of charg-
ing the duties on grain is imperfect, and that it is
desirable that the same should be levied by weight
instead of measure." Formerly grain was sold en-

tirely by measure, but now it was almost entirely
sold by weight; it had also been decided that freight
should be charged by weight, and it ought naturally
to follow that the duties should be levied in the same
way. By taking the duty by measure they paid
the larger amount on the inferior article, and in
addition to this the expense of measurement added
from 30 to 40 per cent. to the duty.
Mr. HUBBARD, M.P., said that he had been asked
to second the resolution, and he had hoped that
before doing so he should have heard the opinions
of some of the gentlemen present whose experience
and observation would have entitled their views to
considerable weight. The case, however, appeared
so remarkably clear, that it was hardly necessary
to offer anything in support of the statements already
put forth. This was one of the cases in which ex-
perience and practice had provided a remedy for an
existing grievance, and the freight being charged
by weight, and the sales being effected on the same
principle, no doubt the Government would see the
advantage of extending it to the levying of the
duty. At present, so far from the duty being
in harmony with the value of the article taxed,
in many cases the duty increased in an
inverse proportion to the value of the article;
nor did this observation apply to one article
alone, but it referred to the various kinds of grain.
It was now proposed that one duty should be
levied on all kinds of grain, and that duty being
levied by weight would correct the inequalities of
which they now had a right to complain. Taking
the imports during the last year he found they had
been—

Wheat
Barley
Oats
1,622,919 of 304
Beans
479,758 of 456
Peas
.. 230,132 of 612
Rye 1,694 of 464
Maize
giving a total of 16,491,813 qrs., upon which a duty
of £824,590 had been paid, and which, if taken in
weight, would have amounted to 3,338,020 tons,
the duty on which, being levied at 48. 11d. and
Is. 3d., would realise £824,690, being the same
amount as was raised under the present system.
They therefore proposed to simplify the matter by
offering to the Chancellor of the Exchequer a
form duty of ss. per ton. Ile (Mr. Hubbard) could
and he had much pleasure in second-
not anticipate any difficulty in carrying out this
arrangement,
ing the resolution.
Mr. MITCHELL cordially supported the resolu-
tion, believing that the alteration would be certainly
beneficial, though it would not entirely remedy the
evils of which they now complained.
unani-
mously. The resolution was then put and carried

Mr. S. RALLI proposed the appointment of a com-
mittee comprising several influential members of
the trade to consider a scheme to be laid before the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. He condemned a
proposition that had been made in the matter by
Mr. Osborne to impose a duty of ls. on 4801 b. of
wheat, 4001 b. of barley, and 3201 b, of oats, in lieu
of the present levy, and he (Mr. Ralli) further
expressed his disapproval of two other schemes that
that had been submitted, arguing that the ton being
the standard measure of the country ought to be
adopted as the basis.
Mr. RUSSELL, M,P., seconded the appointment
of the committee.

Mr. OSBORNE defended the proposition be had
made, and urged that the quarter having been
hitherto the measure by which all business had
been transacted it was desirable that it should be