The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-02 00:00:00

REPEAL OF TILE DUTY ON PAPER.

A meeting of paper manufacturers was held yes-
terday afternoon at the Clarence Hotel, Spring-gar-
dens, in ordsinto consider what steps could he taken to
secure, in the course of the seat session of Parliament,
the abolition of the paper duty. Mr. T. B. Cromp-
ton was called to the chair. Among the gentlemen
present were Messrs. J. Smith (Smith and Ingle),
C. Potter (C. H. and E. Potter), Martin (Leeds),
T. B. Parke, J. Bennett, Crook (Crook and
Knowles), Baldwin (Birmingham), J. Rideout
(J. and T. B. Crompton), Holden, and Appleton.
The CHAIRMAN said that at a meeting held about a
month since, he was requested to ascertain, as far as
possible, the probability of getting, in the next session
of Parliament, an abolition of the paper duty. With
this view he had had interviews with Lord John Rus-
sell, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and a great
number of leading men, both in and out of Parliament,
and of all political sentiments. The result of those in-
terviews was aconviction Out on the exertions made by
the public and the trade, but emanating from thelatter,
would entirely depend whether they were to succeed in
getting this obnoxious tax repealed or not. The next
step he took was to hove a circular issued by the
" Associetion for the aboli!i, n of the duty en
peper," which existed in London, and also himself to
issue a pamphlet on the subject. He did this hemline
he felt that they could never hope for success, unless
they informed? the public of the true nature of the
paper tax, and the extent to which it affected almost
every individual in the community. He had that day
met with an individual who was consuming 1,0001.
worth of paper yearly, but who said he "had not
the least idea that paper paid any very serious duty,"
and was perfectly astounded when he (the Chairmen)
informed him that it paid not less than 40 per cent.
This was not all : some descriptions of paper were
taxed to the extent of 120 per cent. on the cost price.
He believed that if the public, now almost ignorant on
the subject, were made fully aware of the nature of
the paper duty, not only would they be able to secure
its speedy repeal, but, in fact, to make it a part of the
next budget. They would find in the public press,
he believed, a most poweeful organ in aiding
their movement; and through the newspepers,
and other channels, the association in Loudon
would take care that the bearings of the tax were
fully exposed to the public. The paper nisnufac-
turere were of course the firs` to feel the effects of
ii. nee. .t% man roan not commence making paper
Without firt epplyin„ce to an Excise officer to survey
his premises, to number every room in them, and also
to mark, by letter or by number, every implement
which he (the manufacturer) proposed to use. The
Act now in force, as amended by Committee, was
called " A Bill to consolidate and amend the Laws
for collecting and securing the Duties of Excise on
Paper mole in the United Kingdom ;" it was passed
on the sde July, 1539, ai4d. contained 69 clauses, a
great number of which wire penal. Section 3 re-
quired papermaktre, before commencing business, to
make " a true and particular entry in writing" of
all their mills and premises, and every implement
they used in the manufacture, &c., "of paper of
any description, or buttonboard, wallboard, paste-
board, or scaleboard," and to deliver the same
to the Excise officer in whose survey the mill
and premises might be situated ; in which entry
every " engine, chest, machine, vat, and press shall
be distinguished by a particular number or
letter, or number and letter or letters ;" in default ef
which, for every unentered mill or implement, the
manufacturer shall forfeit 2001., " together with ail
paper, button-board, millbeard, pasteboard, or scale-
board, and all manniali found therein." A similar
penalty was imposed in case the marks upon the
several things mentioned did not agree with the entry
given in ; so that if the number or letters were erased
by accident, the excise officer could declare the pre-
mises as unentered, and enforce the penalty of 2001.
The chairman proceeded to read and comment upon
section 9, remarking that under it the labels issued by
the Commissioners of Excise, to he used in the tying
up of paper, were made equal in value to bank notes ;
as there was a fine of -104 imposed_ for every label de-
livered to eny mandic.tiur4, 4-*6-4 for which a re-
ceipt shall not be' ginerns or Which shall be can-
celled, obliterated, or destroyed,,, sold or dispoSed
'ef, or improperly used, or not. produced or ap_-
eemnted for," when, demanded by the Excise
officer. It wee often:necessary to -entrust a working
than with 1,000 of, those notes- at,once (representing
'to the manufacturer 10,0001.), and the manufacturers
were, of course, always in danger, as some of the
labels might be destroyed or removed through malice,
,_Or even through the slightest negligence or inatten-
tion. By section 15; a period of 84 hours was con-
' entries], after paper was ready for delivery into the
market, before the manufacturer could send it out,
in consequence of the notice required to be given prior
to, and to lapse after, the weighing and charging of
it with duty. This period, during which the paper
was kept in the mill, was a longer one than was re-
quired for him to buy the raw materials in Manches-
ter, send them to his mill, manufacture paper, and
transport it to any part of the kingdom, if he were
not interfered with. This regulation crippled the
consumption of riper to an almost incalculable ex-
tent. The chairman, after referring to other restric-
tive and penal clauses in the Act, pointed out the
extent to which, despite the vigilance of the Excise,
frauds were constantly being committed, and said
that of this Government was fully aware, and V.C.•
knowledged the difficuity of collecting the duty.
Substitutes for paper were being continually produced,
so nearly identical in their nature, that excisemen
could not detect the difference, until told of it; but
all these were allowed to go duty free. He himself,
within ten days, bad placed in the hands of a Govern -
ment officer a specimen of a new material, which the
officer unhesitatingly pronounced to be pasteboard;
but he would not, nevertheless, dare to seize three
tons of it, although he (the chairman) told him where
it way lying. The chairman next referred to the
great number of persons who depended upon the
manufacture of of men either directly or indirectly,
and urged the immense advantage which must result
to them from the abolition of the piper duty. Mr.
Baldwin described the injurious operation of the paper
duty on the trade of Birmingham. The meeting was
afterwards addressed by Mr. C. Potter, and other
gentlemen ; and resolutions were agreed to for the
commencement of a subscription to aid the London
association ; directing the secretary to communicate
with all similar associations in the country, end urg-
ing paper manufacturers to solicit subscriptions from
their friends generally, and to endeavour to make
known the injurious operation of the tax complained
of. About '2OO/. was subscribed by those present at
the meeting.—Manchester Guardian of Wednesday.

PARLIAMENTARY APPLICATIONS FOR
THE ENSUING SESSIONS.

Yestercla;,Won7theruturll; made by Mr. Hawes, Re,
giztrar of the Private Bill-cffice. of the House of Com•
mons, of the applications in connexion with joint-stock
undertakings, deposited in the House of Commons. up to
Tuesday, the 31st December, the last day allows d by the
Standing Orders, it appears that the total number of ap•
plications to Parliament for the enEuirg scr!ion, for all
classes of Bills, amount to 216, about one-half being
for railways and the other half for miscrilareous com-
panies, shewii g that the joint-stock enterprise of the
country is by no means daunted by the dramas now
daily enacting under the Joint Stock Companies Wind-
ing-up Act. There are the following applications for
new water companies :—Metropolitan Water Supply As-
sociation for the control of the representative body;
Wandle Water and Sewerage Company; London (Wat-
iord) Spiing Water Company ; Metropo!itan Waa r dvorks
(Lienley-on-Thames and London aqueduct); East Lan-
cashire Waterworks; Cambridge Waterworks; Leices-
ter Waterworks and Sewerage; at. Helen's Waterworks;
Whi:by Waterworks; East Stonehouse Waterworks;
making four applications for the metropolis and five for
the provincial dhtricts. There are five applications
for new electric telegraph companies, viz.—The United
Kingdom Electric Company (Mien's patent); the Euro•
pean and American Printing Telegraph Company (Jacob
Brett's); the Submarine Telegraph Company, between
Great Britain and Ireland (Brett's); the Submarine Te-
legraphCampany, between England and France; and the
Magnetic Electric Telegraph Company. Tho Electric
Telegraph Company also apply for amendments of their
present Acts. There are several applications for the
municipal and other improvements of Liverpool an,
incorporation Gas Consumers' Corn
on of their company,
i
p,ArTahanenyrceh ea sr
apply Manchester. r.s e
forvTe
rha The
an
pr
pei
ni;ations for local gas companies.
To suversede the "Smithfield nuisance," measures are
proposed, celled the Railway Insurance Cattle Market,
and the Metropolitan Cattle Market, the object of the
latter being the removal of Smithfield and Newgato
Markets, and the prohibition intramurally of slaui-hter-
houses. The maintainers of Smithfield as it is also have
a Bill, entitled " Smithfield Enlargement," one of the
objects being the removal of the dead meat market from
Smithfield, and the levying of tolls, stallage and dues for
the proposed purpose.

DEATH FROM ?HE ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE OF A
GUN.—An inquest was held on Tuesday at the Anchor
Inn, Whittington, in the parish of Kinvor before T. M.
Phillips, Esq., eoroner, on the body of Isaac Starling,
about 22 years of age, a boatman, who on the previous
gun whilst
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irndgay
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,endg by
the the
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Canal, near Whittington Horse Bridge. It appeared from
the evidence that the young man had been shooting at
rooks as he passed.along the canal, and that suddenly the
man who was driving the ass which was drawing the
boat heard the report of a gun, and on looking back towards
the boat! saw the deceased's hat fall over the boat into the
water. The man who was driving made an alarm, and on
going aboard the boat he and another boatman found the
deceased lying on the floor of the cabin with a double-
barrel gun under him. They then discovered that Starling
had received a dreadful fracture on the left side of the
skull, and that he was quite dead. The driver stated in
his evidence that there were-two steps frem the spot on
which the deceased stood to shoot and steer down into the
cabin, where the deceased put the gun after shooting, and
he (witness) believed that the hammer of one of the locks
must have struck against one of the steps whilst the deceased
was in the act of going down into the cabin with the butt
end of it downwards, and accidentally discharged it. It
appealing also from the evidence that Starling was a happy
contented-minded man, the jury returned a verdict of
, Accidental Death.— Wolverhampton Chronicle.