The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-30 00:00:00

MEETING OF PAPER MAKERS.

A very considerable meeting of the paper-manufacturers
took place yesterday at the London Coffee-house, on the sub-
ject of the paper duty. Mr. Dickinson, of Hertfordshire, in
the Chair.

From the statement of the Chairman, it appears that the pa-
per manufacture is injured by the operation of the excise laws
in a degree that, but for the unquestionable authority of the
Commissioners of Excise Inquiry, and the statements of the
parties present, we could not have considered possible,.
It appears that the different kinds of paper, pasteboard, mill-
board, &c., are classed by the excise laws, partly according to
their substance, and partly according to the nature of the ma-
terials used in their manufacture, under three different rates of
duty—viz., 285., 21s. and 14s. per cwt. ; the lowest of these
being paper made wholly out of old- tarred rope without extract-
ing the pitch or tar ; but, in consequence of the introduction of
chain cables and other changes, this kind of material, which
was formerly very cheap, has increased in price nearly threefold,
so that it now greatly exceeds that of many of the materials used
in paper liable to the first class duty of 28s. per cwt. It ap-
pears that owing to this many manufacturers, particularly in
the northern parts of the kingdom, adopt the first class mate-
rials for second class paper, and, disguising them by a mixture
of dissolved pitch and tan, get their paper charged by the Ex-
cise at 14s. per cwt. instead of 28s. ; so that, as the report of
the Commissioners states, page 11, " the consequence is, that
the person who manufactures paper of this description under
the name of second class, is enabled to take a double advan-
tage of honest manufacturers—first, by using materials of a
much cheaper description than those prescribed by law, and
secondly, by paying half the duty he ought to pay.
The distinction as to the substance of this brown paper, by
which in one case it is allowed to pass as paper at the duty of
14s. per cwt. and in the other is charged as inillboards at the
rate of 21s. per cwt., is so undefined, and, from certain causes,
so completely undefinable, that many manufacturers are made
to pay 21s. per cwt. duty for the very same article that others
pay only 14s. per cwt. for.
M&. Toe., %.,1' klao 6rm or Drewett and 'joule, manufac-
turers of brown paper and millboard, for which the excise
insist on his paying 21s. per cwt. duty, stated that his mill
was almost at a stand, and loaded with manufactured goods,
in consequence of his being undersold by other manufac-
turers who pay only 14s. per cwt. for the same articles. Hop-
ing, as he thought, to rectify this discrepancy, he procured sei-
zures to be made in two places of the millboards precisely simi-
lar to his own, which, in consequence of paying only the 14s,
duty, were sold under his price, and got them transmitted to
the head office of the Excise in London. To his great astonish-
ment, the articles were restored to the makers without any
surcharge or comment. This being the case, he insisted on
the officer attending his mill passing his goods at the same
rate, but the officer, under the direction of the supervisor,
positively refused to do so. Mr. Tonle then came up again
to the Excise-office, and demanded, in common justice, that
he should be put on an equality with the other manufacturers
whose goods after seizure had been restored ; but all the
answer he could get, and that verbally, was that the Board of
Excise could not interfere in the matter. When be remon-
strated upon this ruinous injustice, one of the clerks in the
department told him there was no help, and that anothr
manufacturer, similarly circumstanced, had been at the office
that morning, and had gone away almost frantic about the loss
of his business.

The CHAIRMAN stated that Messrs. Phipps, of Dover,
Mr. Edward Wright, of Drayton, and many other respectable
manufacturers, were in the same situation as Mr. Tonle, and
referred to the following notice of the subject in the Report of
the Commissioners :

We have found in our examinations of the solicitor and
the Surveying-General-Examiner of Excise upon the subject,
that they were fully aware of the inconvenience arising from
the present state of the duty, and that they agreed that the
only remedy short of a total repeal would be found in a conso-
lidation of the classes into one."

Mr. DEHANT, the solicitor of Excise, says that "there is
often a difficulty in making the right distinction ;" and adds,
that " a consolidation of the duty would save trouble and
questions arising upon it ; that the complaint that one man
was paying first class duty, and another second class, would
cease." He also admits that " other materials than those
allowed by law are used in second class paper, and that an
officer not well versed in the manufacture may make a mistake."
Mr. HETIIERINGTON, surveying-general-examiner of the
Excise, who is thoroughly acquainted with the practical opera-
tions of the duties, says, " that a consolidation would save
much dispute; that there are complaints as to the inequality
of charge ; and that it is difficult to distinguish between the
two ; that, in short, he has no doubt that one rate of duty
would be infinitely preferable to two."
Mr. DICKINSON stated that the trade had at length reason
to expect redress for these grievances, owing to the report of
the Commisioners of Excise Inquiry, the greater part of which
he read to the meeting ; and there was an universal feeling that
the Commissioners had thoroughly investigated the subject,
and shown great impartiality in the measures they recom-
mended.

The CHAIRMAN said, he had hoped that the Commissioners
would go further, and recommend the entire abolition of the
paper duty ; and he also thought that more might have been
said than the report contains on the subject of the enormous
evasion of the duty constantly going on in the paper trade,
owing to the high rate of the duty in proportion to the dimi-
nished price of paper ; and stated that owing to the injury sus-
tained by smuggling (which, as appears by the evidence an-
nexed to the report, is constantly going on and injuring the
fair trader to a great extent), this manufacture affords a soli-
tary instance of a continued uninterrupted progressive de-
crease of price for the last 24 years, without one single favour-
able turn.

It was remarked by some gentlemen present that the into.
lerablc injustice of the regulations relating to this tax pre.
vented the Excise from venturing on any public exposure, and
they allowed gross frauds to be hushed up by private com-
promise, because they dared not show the arbitrary and op-
pressive character of the law ; and he mentioned that there
had been four flagrant cases of fraud detected within the last
month, one of which had been going on for five years, and yet
the matter was already settled by a compromise.
The meeting determined on the appointment of a committee
for seeking through the Treasury or through Parliament that
relief which the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry in their re-
port on paper recommended, and drew up and signed a memo.
rial to the Lords of the Treasury, and a petition to the House
of Commons, on the subject. The only part of their proceed-
ings in which there was not perfect unanimity arose from a
proposition of Mr. Lowe that the meeting should rather peti-
tion for a repeal of the stamp duty on newspapers, which he
stated would so greatly multiply these publications, as to
cause an additional demand for paper equal to the whole ma-
nufacture at present.
The CHAIRMAN stated that he considered that the meeting
had better confine 1!!, pncation to the practical relief which
Lad now such good authority for claiming as the :eport of
the Commissioners recommended. He urge-,1 that the question
of newspaper stamps involved considerations of the greatest
importance, and would be decided by reference to great politi-
cal principles, rather than as a matter of revenue; and sug-
gested that a body like themselves, who had a strong interest
in the question, could not bo thought to give an unbiassed
opinion on the subject, and that anything urged by them would
be entitled to less attention than if it came from any other
class of the community.
The meeting at large appeared to acquiesce in these senti-
ments, and terminated a very long dismission by voting thanks
to the Chairman, and signing the petition and memorial before
l'ekrBd ;4,