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

THE S UN,

ef,er a few hours it used to get clear again. The de-
posit, howevt.r, was generally pro:leccd in the course
of a month, and had to be removed in .shovelsfull. Ile
believed the Right Hon. Baronet repudiated the idea of
the Bill guaranteeing the existing companies 5 per cent.
Instead of that, however, they would have more than
10 per cent., which was about what they divided now.
The stock on which they divided was, ho believed, about
4,800.0001, on which they shared the sum of Gi per
cent. But, in point of fact, had they ever paid up
4,800,0001.? No such thing. They had never paid up
more than about 2,000,000/. The effect of that Bill
would be to give the existing companies a return of at
least 10 per cent on their bona fide capital. Ho believed
the people of the metropolis would never submit to such
a burden for the purpose of perpetuating their present
miserable and pernicious supply of water. He bad no
hesitation in stating that he telt convinced the companies
could never carry into effect such a measure is defiance
of the popular storm to which it would inevitably give
rise, tic could only account for the fact of the Right Hon.
Baronet the Secretary for the Home Department having
introduced such a measure, by supposing that, in the pres-
sure of business with which be had had to deal, he had been
unable to give the master any ordinary amount of atten-
tion. He had himself introduced a Bill upon that sub-
ject; but he was as yet unable to proceed with it, be-
cause the examiner had not, for some reason which was
unknown to him, reported that he bad complied with
the standing orders. In that Bill he proposed that the
Metropolis should be divided into seventeen districts,
that the rate-payers should choose four Commissioners,
that the corporation of London should choose four more,
and that the Government should choose four also. He
further proposed that an Executive Committee should be
appointed, for the purpose of carrying out the provi.ions
of the Act. He would give to the Commissioners a
power of levying a yearly rate, not exceeding three
pence in the pound, on the rateable property of the
metropolis. He believed that such a rate would, in the
course of thirty years, give the inhabitants of London
a right to a gratuitous supply of good water. In con-
clusion' he had to state that he felt bound to offer his
decided opposition to the measure then before the House.
Mr. HUME said they were all agreed that it was ex-
tremely desirable to provide a better supply of water for
the metropolis, and they only differed as to the best
mode of carrying out that object. They had two Bills
before them for that purpose, and under these circum-
stances he would suggest that both measures should be
referred to one and the same Select Committee. If that
course were to be pursued, he should recommend to the
House to assent to the second reading of the measure
then under their consideration.

Sir GEORGE GREY said that he had no objection
to have the two Bills reterred to the same Select Com-
mittee, provided that all interested parties were ex-
cluded from the Committee. _ _

Mr. LA.BOUCHERE justified the conduct of the
Gentlemen who had been unable to report that in the
case of the Bill of the Hon. Member for Falmouth (Mr.
Mowatt), the standing orders bad been complied with.
They could not have so reported, because the measure
had only that day come under their notice, and because
certain parties had come forward to state that they
meant to oppose the measure on the ground that the
standing orders had been violated in the case.
Sir W. CLAY said that every one must admit that
the people of the metropolis were entitled to have the
beat and the cheapest possible supply of water that was
consistent with a fair regard for existing interests. He
believed the existing companies would be perfectly
ready to allow the control over that supply to be placed
in the hands of a Government board or of a municipal
board, if Parliament should think that either of these
courses was the best whioh could be adopted; and he felt
convinced that in that case the Legislature would not
refuse to grant a fair compensation to those persons who
held property in the present companies under the faith
of an Act of Parliament. 'The Hon. Gentleman oppo-
site (Mr. B. Cochrane) had accused those companies of
inalversation.
Mr. B COCHRANE said be had not used the word
malversation. He had merely said that the companies
had not performed their duty to the public.
Sir W. CLAY continued—Ho believed that the Hon.
Gentleman had done great injustice to the existing
Companies. The Hon. Gentleman was not, perhaps,
aware of the exertions made by those companies to sup-
ply water at an extremely low rate in those poorer dis-
tricts to which he had referred; and neither, perhaps,
was be aware of the fact that those exertions had only
been frustrated by the refusal of the landlords of the
houses in those districts to pay any sum whatever for a
supply of water. Tho Hon. Member for Falmouth had
said that the same house in the New River district which
was at present provided with water for 6s. per annum
would have to pay 10s. if that Bill were passed. But the
fact was, that such a house would in that case be sub-
ject to a payment of only ss. per annum. He confidently
asserted that under that Bill there would be a very con-
siderable diminution in the charges for the supply of
tater in the metropolis. Power was, no doubt, liable
to abuse; but some of the opponents of this Bill went
further, and assumed that men would always do
what they ought not to do. Under this Bill, however,
not only must the directors fall gratuitously into evil
paths, but they must do so with the certainty of pecu-
niary loss, for the Bill reserved to the Government the
power of stopping them if they refused to carry out its
Intentions honestly. The Hon. Member for Falmouth
seemed that no new sources of supply would be sought
for, but the Bill made it imperative on the consolidated
companies to provide a better supply of water when
called on by the Secretary of State for the Home Depart-
ment, he being the organ and exponent of public opinion.
He contended that the Bill would also secure a great
diminution in the expense. He admitted that the supply
of water to London required amendment, but denied that
even at present it produced ill health and death, and the
Board of Health positively denied that it had produced
any such result. With respect to the objection of mono-
poly, he denied that the word had any meaning when
applied to the supply of water. In one sense, undoubt-
edly, all water supply was a monopoly, because they
could not, without injury, have more than one set of
works and one capital applied to the supply of one lo-
cality. The only question was, what conditions they
ought to impose on those to whom the supply was er-
trusted, and the point on which they bad now to deli-
berate was, whether this Bill was the best practical
solution of a question which imperatively required to
be solved. Three distinct parties had united to op-
pose it, every one of whom differed as widely as pos-
sible from each other as to the best mode of ad-
ministering to the supply of the metropolis. What
the Bill would do was this—it would give, and that
with certainty, the best possible supply of water; it
would distribute that supply in the best possible way
and on the lowest possible terms. If any one supposed
that he could violate with impunity the engagements
into which Parliament had entered he greatly mistook
the temper of that House. They could not take from
these companies their existing charters without compen-
sation. Their only course, consistent with justice, would
be to create fresh companies to enter into competition
with them, and the result would be, not to bring the
rates i.o low as those contemplated by this Bill, but pro-
bably to raise them after a short struggle to a higher
pitch. His own opinion was that the Bill, under the
circumstances, offered a wise and practicable compromise
and solution of a very difficult question. He did not
think the House would ever deal unfairly with existing
companies, and it would be not only a pitiful policy if
they abused their power by dealing unjustly with those
wbo had embarked their capital on the faith of a Parlia-
mentary sanction, but it would be also a most unwise
policy, and one which would shake to their very founda-
tions those feelings of unbounded confidence in the jus-
tice of Parliament which lay at the very root of that
spirit of enterprise by which all the great works in Eng-
land had been aceomplished. He lett the question with
the most perfect confidence in the hands of the House.
If they did not pass this Bill, they would to a certainty
put eff to another year a reform which was highly de-
sirable. Ho had been so strongly impressed with the
justice of the view taken by the Board of Health as to
the necessity of obtaining a supply of soft water, that he
had taken steps to ascertain whether their recommenda-
tions could be carried into effect, and the result of his in-
quirks had convinced him that a sufficient quantity of
water of the quality recommended by the Board might
be obtained; but ho thought nothing would be got by
going to the Wandle or the Colne.
Viscount EBRINGTON called attention to the re-
port of the Registrar-General in January, 1850, to
prove the influence of the quality of the water on the
health of the people. From the report it appeared that
the rate of mortality from the cholera on the banks of
the Thames, between Battersea and Hungerford bridges,
was ten times as great as that between Hammersmith and
Kew. It appeared to him that a Bill affecting the health
of the greatest city in the world, with a population of
2,250,000 ought not to be sent to a Committee up stairs to
be licked into shape, but ought to receive the full conside-
ration of the House. He protested against the question
of a constant or intermittent supply being still treated as
a moot point, when it was established de concesso that a
constant supply was not only the more convenient, but
also the more economical system. Mr. Mill said that
it was a mistake to suppose that prices were in all cases
heat down by competition. In this case the competi-
tion should, in his (Viscount Ebrington's)opinion, be for
the occupation of the field of monopoly. The rating of
the houses in London at 1/. per house for domestic pur-
poses would yield 300,000/, and to this should be added
100,000/. for the supply for manufactures, in all
400,000/. a-year, which was more than double the ac-
tual cost at which the article could be supplied by a
company beginning de novo. He could not see why the
people should bo thus overtaxed to pay the interest of
the money squandered in former days by those compa-
nies, in extragavant competition, and expended in igno-
rance of all the modern improvements of science. He
did not believe that the rejection of the Bill would re-
tard the obtaining of an improved supply of wholesome
water; if he did, he would not oppose. But, deeming it
a hasty and ill-considered met'sure, he should vote
against the measure.
Mr. WAKLEY said that scarcely a word had been said
on either side, except by the Right Hon. Gentleman
(Sir G. Grey), to show that the Bill should be sup-
ported. The people had asked for cheap hops and they
had been refused; for cheap malt, and they had been
refused; for unadulterated coffee, and they had been re-
fused; and now they asked for pure and cheap water,
and the answer was this Bill. What the Administra-
tion did drink, he could not imagine.—(Laughter.) The
people asked for clean water, end the Government in
reply delivered them over to the hands of those who had
long persecuted them with foul and muddy water. It
was idle to say there was not the means of remedying
the evil—where there was the will there was the v, ay.
But the Government had not the disposition. The
Mr. Napier had proved that an adequate supply of ex-
cellent water could be obtained from the lauds of Surrey,
but they did not avail themselves of the advantage. The
public, however, wore becoming angry, and if this Bill
were read a second time, the Government vi ould be met
with a general burst of indignation which would astonish
them.

After a few words from Mr. B. COCHRANE in ex-
planation,
Sir DE LACY EVANS expressed himself oppozed to
the principle of the Bill.
The Howe divided, when there appeared—
For the secilnd reading
Against it

95
... 79

-16

Majority ...
The Bill was accordingly read a second time.
LEEDS AND THIRSK RAILWAY BILL.

The Lords' amendments to this Bill wero 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 wiai
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 be 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 uatil August, 1840, when there was
a Treasury minute issued permitting the admixture of
chicory with coffee, because, as it was declared by the
Treasury 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.—(Hear.) 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 any 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 net permitted to be done by the law,
but it was allowed by the Treasury minute. The de-
tails with which he was furnished, but ho 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. He 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 tau, 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, hear.) The effect
of his resolution, it' 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 ls. 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 this
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 ono 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
great number of grocers who now dealt in the adulterated
articles to cease to deal with them.—(Hear.) 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 it the chicory-dealers said that hie pre-
position would be a hardship upon them, he replied that
he did nothing to prevent a bond 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 cou'd 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, bat 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, hear.) 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 in
this country was of foreign growth; since then, how-
ever, the great hulk 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 upo❑ 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
lion. Member.
Lord H. 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 he seemed to suppose. All that was proposed was,
that the Treasury order should be withdrawn, and that
coffee should bo sold under its proper name, and chicory
also.

great reason to comcpolanisnidoe
An HON. MEMBLord li. VANEER—N o one would buy it.
fretdhethdaillit th.ueitcyoffinee dwehaileehr sthh
ea
yd
were placed by the order, and he hoped,(4 therefore, that
the Government would act fairly towards them, and that
affirm the House would the proposition.
quite clear whether hßis
The CHANCEL
Lo o
ano fthe
the
question Honourable EXCHEQUERa t Friend
issue t. owo
When
vs
hnt the
ne
sanitary ground or not
he spoke of the forti
ofhome-grown chicory, article,he he said it was whole-
some; but when he spl
raid the reverse was the case. It was a remarkable fact
as chicory
u
paid
raised to its duty there was not the
slightest on sanitary grounds.
iode a i
long s t
was
only
within the lase st few months that this
that
eio nol
less, though he (the Chnncellormq:oed'ictlite Exchequer)
ground was taken at all on the
with
them were strongly
of the
Neverthe-
wth•oeustdubnjeoctt.trhoeulf).elelttuhe
uHndoutosesvav)i, testimony on
expressod medical opinions in favour of t
ness of chicory. Moreover, there was the ieuaschetedadletrhitvueld.
from experience on that head. It had been '
exten-
sively for the last fifteen years in Germany and in Eg
Eng-
land, and no complaint of its unhealtainess had been
until within the last six months. Indeel, the
weight 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 had stated correctly enough what had taken
place. Bef3ro 1840 the grocers kept chicory on their
premises along with other articles that paid duty, and no
interference ooli piACP PU the part 9f the Exci4e. It WO

LON DON,

found, however, by experience that it would be utterly
impossible to prevent their mixture; and the Treasury
order w,s therefore issued, not because of the high
price of tea and coffee, but simply because of that im-
possibility. All that this order did was to exempt the
dealer from the Excise penalty; it did not in any sense
of the word sanction fraud on the public. That
order had been drawn up by his predecessor in office;
and although efforts were made to obtain its with-
drawal, under the Government of Sir Robert Peel, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer of that Government de-
clined to interfere as between the seller and the public.
He (the Chancdlor of the Exchequer) had not the
slightest doubt on his mind that for a considerable time
past the consumption of coffee had been increased and
extended by the use of chicory. The Hon. Gentleman
had argued es though no adult,,ration had taken place
before the Treasury minute of 1840; but the Hon. Gen-
tleman would think differently if he had read the book
written by Mr. Accum, or oven if he was aware of the 1:
statements constantly made to him (the Chancellor of •
the Exchequer). His Hon. Friend had presided over a
meeting on the subject held in the City, at which opinions
were much divided, for ho (the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer) had received two deputations from it. In that
interview he was assured that tea, mustard, pepper,

_
sugar, and even arrowroot, were adulterated to an enor-
mous extent. When he.(the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer) adverted to the statements, a member of one of
the deputations said he could not interfere because there
was no duty on them. That admission made it a sani-
tary question. It wad, he conceded, the duty of the Go-
vernment to protect the public against the use of dele-
terious ingredients in food, but he did not
believe chicory to be deleterious; and he hold
that it was not the duty of the Government
to interfere between the public and the seller when
such was the case. He referred to a publication in which
the components parts of milk and cream, such as they
are sold in the metropolis, were stated; and urged that
the Hon. Gentleman, therefore, should not run away
with the absurd idea that the Treasury minute was the
cause of adulteration in cofft•e, inasmuch as it admitted
only a wholesome mixture.' The Hon. Gentleman bad
alluded to the number of those in the retail trade adverse

to the Treasury minute; but he (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) should say that there were still more on the
other side of the question. In fact, he was overwhelmed
with memorials in its favour from retail grocers in all
parts of the country, every ono of which deprecated its
withdrawal. The Hon. Gentleman said his motion was
simply to withdraw that minute—nothing more. But
what would be the result of that proceeding? Excise
officers would visit every grocer's shop which they
suspected—seize all the chicory they found on the pre-
mises, lay informations before a magistrate, and endea-
vour to obtain a conviction, as a matter of course. He

(the Chancellor of the Exchequer) believed it would be
extremely difficult to obtain proofs that coffee was mixed;
and, therefore, these proceedings would produce no
good; but, on the contrary, would cause an extraordi-
nary degree of vexation and trouble. Indeed he was sa-
tisfied that before three months were over there would
be a mass of petitions against the withdrawal of the
order. He had had a memorial signed by 1,076 grocers
in London, against all interference in the matter, and
the aggregate from the towns of England amounted
to 300. It was well known by tho parties purchas-
ing the article, in nine cases out of ten, that it was
not pure; and unless he doubted the evidence before
him, the working classes liked the mixture bettor
than anything else. The Hon. Gentleman had admitted
that there were no complaints on the part of the con-
sumers; but he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) re-
ceived representations stating, not only that no voice
was raised against the mixture, but that it was more
generally liked than pure coffee. A grocer in South
Shields stated that even those parties purchasing ground
coffee, which contained a very respectabls portion of
chicory—(Laughter)—actually bought at the same time
packets of chicory to mix with it still further. This
grocer said, " In one instance, when my stock was ex-
hausted, I was necessitated to sell pure coffee, and the
complaints and returning of which were so great, that
they lasted for more than a week." The Right Hon.
Gentleman read similar letters received from Liverpool,
Leeds, Norwich, Cork, 86e. From Cork the letter stated
that they would prefer all chicory to pure Ceylon
Cuffee.—(Laughter.) It should be recollected that the
consumers had the power, if they pleased, of protecting
themselves from adulteration in coffee if they purchased

the bean and ground it themselves. This was not the
case with tea, sugar, and other articles. There was not
a respectable grocer that would not grind the coffee be-
fore the eyes of his customer if he were required to do
so. He therefore did not think that it was a case for the
interference of the Government. He believed it would
be very vexatious if they interfered. Even if they did
interfere, he doubted whether they would succeed in
their object. Ho was not prepared to undertake so
vexatious an alteration in their laws as to interfere by
their army of excise officers in all cases in which they
thought that this mixture of chicory with coffee took
place, and to lay an information with a view of enforc-
ing the penalties against all parties who were suspected
of these practices.
Mr. E. STANLEY said that the Right Hon. Gentle-
man had told them that he was not prepared to carry on
a crusade against the adulteration of coffee, because if
he did he would have to extend the same principle to
many other articles in which there were similar adulte-
rations. Well, if the Right Hon. Gentleman objected to
interfere in any case of adulteration whatever, what did
he intend to do in the case of tea, tobacco, pepper, and
other spices, in all which cases it was well known he in-
terfered to prevent adulteration at present?—(Hear,
hear.) All that was asked at present was not that the
Right Hon. Gentleman should introduce a new principle,
but that ho should merely carry out the principle which
he applied to other cases.—(Hear, hear.) The Right
Hon. Gentleman said that the same abuses existed at the

time of the late Government, and they did not think it
desirable to interfere; but their abstinence from action
he (Mr. Stanley) believed resulted from the simple cause
that the revenue from coffee had not then diminished.
The Right Hen. Gentleman said fraud might easily be
prevented by the purchase of whole instead of ground
coffee; but if there really were not practical difficulties
in the way of applying that remedy it would have been
applied before, and the present general feeling of discon-
tent would not have been excited. (Hear, hear.)
With regard to the diminution of the consumption of
any article, he believed that there could be but three
reasons explanatory of it. The first was diminished
power of consumption. Now, he did not think that any
Gentleman would contend that that existed at present,
(" Hear, hear," from the Free-traders.) Whatever might
be the result for the future of the present commercial
policy, there was no question that the labouring classes
were consuming more largely than they had done for some
years past.—(Renewed cheers from the same quarter.)
By that cheer they acknowledged that diminished power
of consumption was not the cause of the falling off in the
consumption of coffee. The Right Hon. Gentleman had
urged another cause for the diminished consumption of
coffee—viz , the substitution of tea and cocoa, which had
largely increased. But there had been a movement in
favour of temperance, and a consequent diminution in
the consumption of spirituous liquors, so that that dimi-
nution might be set against an increase in the consump-
tion of tea and cocoa. There was only another cause to
account fur the diminished consumption of coffee, and
that would be an increase in the price of the article; but
it was perfectly well known that a very great reduction
in price had taken place. While none of these causes,
therefore, operated, the consumption of real coffee bad
greatly fallen. In 1847 the quantity sold for home con•
sumption was more than 37,000,0001 b., but from that
time it had regularly decreased, and last year (1850) it
had fallen to 30,000,0001 b. He had not heard any cause
stated for this very large reduction, except adulteration.
He believed it was calculated that of the quantity of ar-
ticles 501(1 under the name of coffee two-thirds were not
real coffee, but chicory. The result was a loss not only
to the revenue, but also to the public. Ho would not
dwell on the case of the colonial producer, for that was
not likely, perhaps, to meet with a favourable hearing;
but it was not consistent even with the principles of free
trade to subject a colonial produce paying a tax to com-
petition with an article paying none. There was, how-
ever, a fourth class which suffered, and that was the
honest retailer, who desired to sell as coffee that which
was coffee only.—(Clear, hear.) It was very well to say
that it was not compulsory on any one to sell chicory,
but the consumer would leave one tradesman's shop if
at another's an article wore sold to him as coffee at a
cheaper rate.—(Hear, hear.) Be had, as yet, only dealt
with the pecuniary question; but there were statements
resting on medical authority to the effect that the mix-
ture of chicory was not perfectly harmless in a sanitary
point; but, whether harmless or not, there was no reason
why a man should pay for chicory three times the price
he would pay if he knew hq were buying chicory.—
But under the cover of the chicory adulteration there
were other articles mixed with coffee which were unfit
for human consumption. Among these were burnt peas,
dog biscuits, powdered earth, damaged beans, and tan.
The Right Hon. Gentleman talked of the attempt to
apply a remedy leading to vexation and the employment
of an army of excisemen. But the Hon. Gentleman
(Mr. Baring) did nut ask for an excise duty on chicory,
nor for a prohibition against its growth, but only that
would
hear)—andevadedto
some to sa y
extent
that
was any
argument
chicory should be sold as chicory, and coffee as
lawcoffee—
(Houeladr, t o that a
against
t effectais t nnoits enactment, as the same thing might be said of almost
any other law. As he thought the disadvantages of the
proposition of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Baring) were
more than counterbalanced by the advantages, ho should
vote for it, believing that it would prevent fraud and de-
moralization, and prove a protection to the poor man,
who from the circumstances of his position was almost
incapable of protecting himself in this matter.—(llear.)
Colonel THOMPSON said that a grocer in the West
Riding, with whom he was acquainted, maintained that
there was nothing like deceit in the mixture of chicory
with coffee—(oh!)—and that all his customers had a
ready way of knowing whether they were buying a
mixture of chicory by comparing it with the price of
his coffee unground.—(Cri aof "Oh!" and laughter.)
Really the facilities with which lion. Gentlemen broke
out into raptures of mirth was most extraordinary. If
they would listen they would see whether he ought to
be laughed at or somebody else. His informant sold
ground coffee
ls. 2d., and coffee in the berry at 2s.
per
lb. Now, his customers in the West Riding must
he idiots if they fancied they were buying real coffee at
2d. per lb. His informant also explained the felling
off in the consumption of coffee when he said, that when
the working classes found their condition good, they
bought loss coffee, and more meat and beer, but when
trade was had they "clammed" upon coffee.
Sir J. TYRELL differed with pain trom his Hon.
Friends near him upon this " mixed question."—(A
laugh.) It was a positive fact that the best, coffee was
composed of the mixture of a portion of cnicory with
the genuine article —(Laughter.) The Hon. Member
(Mr. Baring) did not come into court with clean
' hands, for he admitted ho was interested in the growth
of id euee in the island of Ceylon, while he . (Sir J.
Tyrell) admitted tlato be was a grower of chicory in