The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-06 00:00:00

THE SUN,

After a few words from Mr. B. COCIIR ANE in ex-
pl ination,
Sir DE LACY EVANS expressed himself opposed to
the principle of the Bill.
The House divided, when there appeared—
For the second reading
Against it ...
Majority ...
The Bill was accordingly read a second time.
LEEDS AND THIRSK RAILWAY BILL.
The Lords' amendments to this Bill were agreed to.
NOTICE OF MOTION.
Lord D. STUART gave notice that on Tuesday, the
24th, he would move for a Select Committee on the case
of Ernest Jones.
ADULTERATION OF COFFEE.
Mr. T. BARING presented a petition from merchants
and traders in London, complaining of the effect of the
Treasury minute, permitting the mixture of chicory with
coffee; and a petition from retail traders in London to
the same effect. He presented these petitions in support
of the following resolution, of which he had given
notice:—" That it is the opinion of this House, that the
directions of the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's
Treasury to the officers of the Excise, signified by orders
of the 6th and 25th of August, 1840, namely—' That
no objection be made on the part of the revenue to
dealers in and sellers of coffee mixing chicory with
coffee,' are opposed to the Excise regulations in force
regarding other articles of consumption, have encou-
raged very much the practice of fraud, and ought there-
fore to be revoked." The case, he said, that he had to
plead was so clear, the grievance and the remedy alike so
obvious, that he did not feel it necessary to address the
House for any length of time. He ventured, however,
again to press this subject upon the attention of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, because the reasons which
the Right Hon. Gentleman had given on former occasions,
in answer to propositions similar to that now submitted
to the House, did not appear to be either satisfac-
tory or conclusive.—(Hear, hear.) All those who were
interested in this subject, whether as growers or as pro-
ducers of coffee—as dealers or as consumers—had thought
it necessary that the resolution he had to propose should
be brought before the House by one who was a dealer in
coffee.—(Hear, hear.) It was scarcely necessary for him
to state that by the 41st and 42d George 111., there were
very stringent provisions enacted against the substitution
of any article for coffee. By the Act of Geo. IV. roasted
corn and parsnips were permitted to be used by all par-
ties, except those who dealt in coffee. They were not
allowed to be sold but under their real names. By the
7th and Bth Geo. IV. no one was permitted to institute a
prosecution for a breach of the Excise laws, unless with
the order of the Commissioners of Excise. And these
Commissioners were subjected to the Lords of the Trea-
sury. In 1832 the Commissioners of Excise had insti-
tuted proceedings against dealers in chicory; but on the
21st of August, 1832, a Treasury minute was issued,
by which it was declared that the dealers in chicory
were not to be interfered with; and matters remained
in that condition until August, 1840, when there was
a Treasury minute issued permitting the admixture of
chicory with coffee, because, as it was declared by the
'lreasury minute, there was no fraud on the Exchequer
so long as chicory paid the duty. The law was still
the same, but the operation of the law was suspended
by the chicory minute.—(llear.) This was done in
opposition to the Excise regulations with regard to other
articles, such as tea, sugar, pepper, and tobacco. No
mixture was allowed in auy other article, and if any such
adulteration were attempted a prosecution would be im-
mediately instituted.—(Hear, hear.) This anomaly then
existed.—(Hear, hear.) The adulteration of coffee was
altogether authorised, and the dealers in coffee were
allowed to sell in the name of coffee that which was not
coffee. This was not permitted to be done by the law,
but it was allowed by the Treasury minute. The de-
tails with which ho was furnished, but he would not
trouble the House by giving them, showed that there was
a pretty general practice of adulteration. Perhaps this
might be excused when there was a war with China,
and the price of coffee was 110 s. per cwt.; but now the
price was 385., and though coffee was so cheap, yet the
consumption of coffee had very considerably diminished.—
(Hear, hear.) This occurred when it was notorious that
the temperance habits of the people had increased, and
hence the only way to account for the diminution was by
the fact that there had been authority given for the ad-
mixture of other articles with coffee, even though the
Treasury minute permitted that nothing else but chi-
cory should be mixed with it. Ile did not understand
why this distinction in the case of coffee should be ad-
hered to, for it would lead to much mischief—to the use
of roasted peas, of acorns, of sawdust, of tan, and several
other base ingredients, which were sold as coffee.—
(Hear, hear.) Practices like these ought not to have the
sanction of Government; and it was his opinion that it
was the duty both of the House and the Government to
prevent their continuance.—(Hear, bear.) The effect
of his resolution, if sanctioned by the House, upon
every grocer and seller of coffee would be to permit him
still to sell coffee and chicory, but to compel him to
sell each article by its own name and separately.
By this course there would be no demoralization
of the trader, and no injury done to the consumer.—
(Hear.) By the present system, and by competition,
traders were forced to deal in unwholesome articles and
to substitute them for coffee. The honest traders now
called upon the Government to recall its Treasury mi-
nute, so that parties should not be compelled to pay ls.
and Is. 2d. for an article which did not in reality cost
more than 4d.—(Hear, hear.) The objection to the
course he proposed was by the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, on the ground that, if adopted, he must have an
army of excisemen to enforce it. He denied that ibis
would be the case; for there was not a grocer nor a
person who was a dealer in tea and • tobacco who was
not visited by the Excise officers, and to introduce the
article of coffee, as one that should be looked to, would
not cause that additional number of excisemen which
the Right Hon. Gentleman supposed.—(Hear, hear.)
The effect of adopting such a course would be to cause a
groat number of grocers who now dealt in tho adulterated
articles to cease to deal with them.—(Hesr.) But then
he might be told that there had been no petitions from
the consumers of coffee. It was not likely that there
would be so; for the great body of consumers were of
the poorer classes—persons who purchased the article
in powder, who were not competent to be judges, who
had not the means of grinding and roasting their own
coffee; poor persons, who lived from day to day on their
earnings.—(Hear.) He did not propose to interfere
with the growth of chicory, nor to place a tax upon
it—and if the chicory-dealers said that his pre-
position would be a hardship upon them, he replied that
he did nothing to prevent a bona fide sale of chicory. He
was, indeed, distressed, to find the number of those
who openly declared for maintaining the fraudulent
dealing in the article; and he could tell the Chancellor
of the Exchequer that if he did not promptly interfere
in this matter, he would feel the effects of this encourage-
ment given to the mixture of fraudulent articles; he
would be made to feel it in tea, pepper, and other arti-
cles; because persons were learning now the lesson, that
no offence was a fault, but the fault was in being dis-
covered.—(Hear.) The value of the reduction of duties
producing an increase of the consumption was once re-
lied upon, and coffee was pointed to as an example; but
of the truth of that maxim, coffee could be no longer
pointed to as an instance.—(Hear, bear.) When an
article paid a high duty the seller had a right to be pro-
tected against the competition of articles which were
untaxed or to be placed on the same footing. He (Mr.
Baring) should not dwell on the sanitary aspect of the
question, but looking at the analyses of that which was
sold as coffee which had been made, it was plain to all
persons that this mixture contained ingredients dele-
terious in their nature, and injurious to the health of the
community. Having placed his views before the House,
and shown that the anomaly which existed in the case
injured the revenue, injured the public health, and
tended to the demoralisation of the trade in coffee, he
concluded by moving his resolution.
Sir J. TROLLOPE rose to say a few words on the
part of the growers of chicory. Before the Treasury
order in question the great bulk of chicory consumed its
this country was of foreign growth; since then, how-
ever, the great bulk of that article has been grown in
England. His constituents were extensive chicory
growers; and they had entered on its cultivation on the
strength of the Treasury order, which pledged the faith
of the country. It was obvious, therefore, that it would
be at once unjust and impolitic to encourage the growth
of the article at one time, and then at a moment's
warning to act in a sense directly the contrary.—(Hear,
hear.) The chicory-growers were not in anywise im-
plicated in the adulteration complained of. They grew
the article honestly, and they delivered it pure into the
hands of the buyer, who and the retail grocers were alone
responsible for the mixture. It required a large outlay
of capital, and high cultivation, and on the faith of the
nation, pledged by the Treasury order, that cultivation
was extending every day. At this moment the largest
crop ever known was growing; and an immense sum
had been laid out upon kilns and ovens to dry it in, as
as well as other appliances. He protested, therefore,
against the Legislature interfering in any way with the
cultivation of the soil, especially after what had been
done in other matters as regarded agriculture. Conse-
quently, he should vote against the proposition of the
Hon. Member.
Lord IL VANE said his Hon. Friend had entirely
mistaken the question. There was no intimation what-
ever that an Excise duty would be laid upon chicory,
as be seemed to suppose. All that was proposed was,
that the Treasury order should be withdrawn, and that
coffee should be sold under its proper name, and chicory
also.

... 95
... 79

Lord H. VANE considered An Hoer. MEMBER—No
great reason to complain one would buy it.
P
oin.sidered that the coffee dealers had
werethe opolvaecrendm be
Government
tthewould
Lafifim t(1):if
order,
of the difficulty in which they
and
r proposition.
si
otaEirly towards them, and that
hoped,tion. therefore, that
theThlleocusLwNouclEd
Honourablee EXCHEQUER was nee
iosn the question at issue. When
sgallnitietarCylear ground whether
o r
no
th Friend took the
e.t.! said it was whole-
he spoilt) of the foreign
chicory, he some; but when he spoke of home-graven
remarkable feet
was not the
said the reverse! was the case. It wrils'°9'n
gthroautnthdiss.
that as long as chicory paid
iLegrutheer;
duty thaert
slightest objection rab,ed to its use on sale-
Indeed it was only within the last few l'monthsaryN
ground was taken at all on the question.
Neverthe-
less, though he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer)
would not trouble the House with medical testimony on
the subject, he felt bound to say that there were strongly
expressed medical opinions in favour of the healthful-
ness cf chicory. Moreover, there was the fact derived
from experience on that head. It had been used exten-
sively for the last fifteen years in Germany and in Eng-
land, and no complaint of its unhealtainess had been
made until within the List six months. Indeed, the
weight of medical testimony on this point went to prove
that a mixture of chicory and coffee was much more
wholesome than coffee alone.—(A. laugh.) His Hon.
Friend bad stated correctly enough what had taken
place. Before ISIO the grocers kept chicory on their
premises along with other articles that paid duty, and no
integepuce took plAcit 911 tl2O put of tho guise. It Mei