The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-30 00:00:00

REPEAL OF THE PAPER DUTIES.

Yesterday a meeting of delegates from various
parts of the kingdom was held at the King's Arms
Hotel, Palace-yard, for the purpose of making ar-
rangements to wait upon the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, and represent to him the various hardships
inflicted by the present excise regulations on the
paper trade, and the ne-xssity there exists for the
total remission of the dutir. The room was filled with
paper manufacturers, publishers, and others connected
with the trade. mong those present were Mr.
Crompton, who was subseluently called to the chair,
Mr. Charles Knight, Mr. Chambers (Edinburgh),
Mr. S. C. Hall, Mr. Woolmer (Exeter), Mr. Cassel,
Mr. Baldwin (Birmingham), Mr. Borthwick, Mr.
Holden (Manchester), Mr. Collins (Glasgow), Mr.
Towle (Oxford), &c. Mr. Huggett acted as
secretary. Letters from Mr. Hume regret-
ting his inability to attend, but promising
his support in Parliament—from Mr. Charles
Dickens, promising to attend the deputation—
from W. J. Fox with a similar promise—and
also a memorial from the Financial Reform Associa-
tion of Liverpool—were read.
Mr. CROMPTON, on taking the chair, said that he
bad had experience of the working of the paper
duties for the last forty years ; that, during that
period, it had been open to all sorts of frauds, and his
firm conviction was that the only remedy would be a
total repeal of the duties, He had with great diffi-
culty obtained a return of the number of convictions
during the year 1848 for various breaches of the ex-
cise laws committed by paper makers, and would
state to the meeting its results. It appeared that there
were in the three kingdoms about 600 mills at work,
and that in England there had been 43 convictions, in
Scotland 9, and in Ireland 30. This alone gave 15
per cent. on the whole number of traders.—(Hear,
bear.) How was trade to be carried on by honest
men in the face of such proceedings, the more espe-
cially as even 20 convictions did not prevent the frau-
dulent trader still continuing his trade ?—(Hear,
hear.) Again, the excise was in the habit of com-
pounding the penalties, in one case having com-
pounded 3701. for 1001. The whole amount
of penalties inflicted had been 10,7611. 4s. ld., of
which there had been recovered in England
3,5231. 14s. 3d. ; in Scotland, 161/. ; and in Ireland,
1,3841. 4s. 2d. From these figures he felt himself
justified in contending that if it was for nothing else
than the morals of the country, Government ought to
get rid of the tax.— (Hear, hear.) On the coarser
descriptions of paper the tax pressed so heavily, that
the temptation to fraud was almost irresistible, being
about 120 per cent. on the cost price.—(Hear, hear.)
On the raw material the duty was about 600 per
cent., and this while the raw material of every other
manufacturing trade had been emancipated from
duty.--(Hear, hear.) Some time since the duty had
been taken off cotton, at the instance of the manufac-
turers, but it had been left on them, who were only
the scavengers of the cotton mills. They took the
refuse of the cotton, which was about one-fifth of the
whole, and one-third of that they were able to con-
vert into their own raw material. It would hardly
be believed that the tax on this raw material was
about 300 per cent. on the value of the article.—
(Hear, hear.) Was it right that paper makers should
submit to this, while cotton manufacturers had found
8 per cent. on their raw material unbearable ? They
were compelled to pay 50 per cent. on wrapping
paper, and that paper was now being imitated in a non
excisable article with such success that it was impos-
sible to know the paper from the imitation, the only dif-
ference being that in one case the material was first
maceratedinto pulp, and thus came under the deno-
mination of paper, while in the other it was first
worked up dry, and was called felt. Thus, while
another manufacturer was making his felt duty free
he (Mr. Crompton) was paying 120 per cent. duty
on a precisely similar article.—(Hear, hear.) In fact,
to such an extent were frauds of this description going
on, that it would be more to the interest of a gentle-
man entering the paper trade to study how the law
might be evaded than to pay any attention to the
provisions of the Act of Parliament, He had for some
time turned his attention in that direction, and was
now able to make felt on one side of the table while
he was making paper on the other.—(Laughter.) He
would defy the Board of Excise to charge this article
see any impropriety in sending it into the .
as paper, and under existing circumstances hmeardhidetn_ot
(Hear, hear.) He would now enter a little into the
various difficulties which beset the manufacturer of
paper. When he had erected his premises he must
send for a Government officer to make a schedule and
number every room, and every article, presses, vats,
&c., in those rooms. Then he bad to get a licence.
Then, when the paper wus made, it must be packed
in parcels of a prescribed form, a condition which
was open to all manner of evasion. Next the num-
ber of sheets, and weight of each ream, must be
stated, and a label provided by the Govern-
ment affixed. If one of these labels was missing a
penalty of 10/. was the consequence, and yet he was
constantly obliged to entrust them to his workmen.
It might now be supposed that the article was ready
for the market. But no, the goods must remain 24
hours for the inspection of the supervisor, lest there
should have been collusion with the officer, and this
delay was under some circumstances extended to 84
hours before the finished goods were allowed to be
sent off the premises. All men of business would
appreciate what a loss this was to the manufacturer.—
(Hear, hear.) Before leaving its destination it must
ue entered in an open book for the officer, so that at
any time be might take your whole connexion off to
another mill if he should be so inclined.—(Hear.)
If you happen to give a wrong direction an officer
might seize and condemn the parcel without mercy.
The public were hardly aware of how much they were
interested in this question. A gentleman, a friend of
his, who spent about 1,0001. a year in coarser papers,
had been much surprised to learn from him that 5001.
of that sum went to the Government for duty—
(Hear)—and be a man, too, who had to compete with
manufacturers in other countries who wrapped up
their goods in duty-free paper.—(Hear.) He (Mr.
Crompton) had received orders from the continent for
wrappers identical with those used by English houses,
in order that the goods contained might be sold as
English goods. Thus the goods were sold as English
goods, and the foreigner got his drawback on his
English wrappers.—(Hear, hear.) Another fact he
might mention was, that American agents now came
to this country, and purchased the refuse material,
which they manufactured duty free at home, and sent
into our colonies to compete with English manufac-
tures.—(Hear, hear.) His fear was that if the duty
were not repealed they would soon have to give up
work altogether, while, if it were abolished, in accord-
ance with the principles of free trade, which this Go-
vernment professed, he was not afraid of competition
with any country in the world.—(Cheers.)
The SECRETARY announced that memorials, signed
by 8,422 gentlemen had been received from the fol-
lowing places during the last few days, and would be
presented to the ChancellOr of the Exchequer this day
(Thursday) :
Lymington, Hants.
St. Austell, Cornwall.
Merthyr Tydvil (town)
... (Mechanics Institution.)
Grantham.
Kendal.
Stafford.
Ripon.
Portsmouth.
Lancaster.
Haslingdon.
Heywood.
Accrington.
Rochdale.
Middleton.
Darwen.
Garstang.
Blackburn.
Manchester.
Liverpool.
Ch orley.
Glossop.
Lyme Regis.
Dover.
Lancaster.

Bangor.
Exeter.
.. (Newspaper proprietors.)
Grimsby.
Piccadilly, &c.
Bishopsgate Ward.
Oxford-street.
Strand.
Old and New Bond-street.
Berwick-on-Tweed.
Gainaborough.
Bolton (gentry.)
... (trades.)
... (shopkeepers.)
... (engineers, bleachers,&c.)
. (cotton spinners.)
Pontefract.
Devizes.
Warrington.
Wigan (gentry.)
(trades), and
Huxley (merchants).
'Canterbury.
Preston.
Elalshaw Moor and Kit

Peterborough.
Barton-on-Humber.
Glamorgan.
Lincoln.
Saddleworth.
Barnstaple.
Devonport.
Plymouth.

Liverpool Financial Reform
Assooiation.
Reading.
!Durham (Mechanics' Insti-
tution.)
••• Kersley (inhabitants.)
Chichester.

The CHAIRMAN explained that these memorials had
been obtained within the last twenty-one days, being
the time that had elapsed since the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had made an appointment to meet the de-
putation. Each name was accompanied with the ad-
dress of the individual, and he had taken pains that
no signature should be appended by any lower in so-
ciety than very respectable shopkeepers. When he
had waited upon the merchants of Liverpool they
said he had come at a late hour, and that they were
somewhat pledged to the abolition of other taxes; but
when he explained the important nature of the duties
on paper, the cause bad been taken up so warmly that
in three days an array of names had been obtained in
the towns of Liverpool anl Manchester, more influ-
ential and wealthy than had ever before been pro-
cured, unless when the lists had been far more nu-
merous.—(Loud cheers.) He also explained that
many of the instutions, such as the Chamber of
Commerce, could not move without a certain length
of notice, and their memorials consequently had yet
to be forwarded.
tlftirheoetbisecolterxadvfreliodldri,yd
bthat262.--(Cheers.)
( shouldheer have
by the morrow memorials from every other town of
importance throughout the kingdom.
The SECRETARY wished to
Wmaesntsioignnetdhabtyot3hleor
memorials from the metropolitasntredeits,trbiycts3 ex-
pected.lw7ehreouse.hh oout house-
holders; householders; dTtehrhat
as
from t fromh a
t
In answer to a question,
The CHAIRMAN said that there Were no delegates
from Ireland, as the paper manufacture:s there bad