The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-23 00:00:00

REPEAL OF THE PAPER DUTY.

The ninth annual meeting of the Association for
Promoting the Repeal of the Taxes on Knowledge
was held at St, Martin's-hall last evening.
M. A YRTON, M.P., was called to the chair, and
after some introductory remarks, in the course of
which he congratulated the meeting on the success
which had attended the efforts of the association in
procuring, principally through the advocacy of Mr.
Milner Gibson in the House of Commons, the abo-
lition of the advertisement duty and the stamp ditty,
and on the prospect they now had of the abolition
of the remaining restriction, the duty on paper,
being also abolished.

Dr. WATTS moved the first resolution—" That
the excise duty on paper obstructs literature and
education, impedes commerce, wastes capital,
harasses industry, injures the revenue, is incapable
of collection without violating the law of the land,
has been condemned by Parliament, and ought to
be repealed forthwith." He said that the tax on a
penny newspaper was about 26 per cent. of the
price, and in the case of the Saturday's Manchester
Guardian the case was worse. That paper was
sold by the proprietors to the newsmen at 9d. a
dozen, the cost of the paper being ls. a dozen, the
difference between • 9'd. and the ls. being just the
amount of the duty, Again, the paper duty on the
Irish National School books was 121 per cent.
It was impossible that, with the paper duty, a
penny newspaper could pay the proprietors.
But a penny was the working man's price.
Adverting to the effect of the duty on commerce,
he exhibited a paper bag which stood on .its own
bottom. It was patented on account of the quality,
and was intended for exportation to America, but
the manufacturer had to pay the duty. True, he
got it back on the bags being exported ; but the
laying on of the duty, and the process to be gone
through to obtain the drawback, caused a loss of 10
per cent. on the cost of the article; so that the duty,
though the drawback was allowed, practically
amounted to an export duty of 10 per cent. Again,
in making up parcels, the paper in which they were
wrapped being given away, the cost of it was added
to the article, and thus trade was injured. The ar-
ticle of sewing cotton, which was formerly sold on
wooden bobbins, was now sold on pasteboard. The
duty on the pasteboard amounted to 5 per cent. on
the article; 5 per cent. was added for the profit of
the dealer, making 10 per cent. ; and when they ex-
ported the article to America, the customs duty of
25 per cent. raised the tax on the pasteboard to 123
per cent. One manufacturer in Manchester used to
export sewing cotton in pasteboard boxes, and he
exported at one time 100,000 boxes a year. Now,
however, he did not export one, the duty on the
pasteboard having destroyed the profit. Some years
ago Mr. Baring added 5 per cent. to the 1-Id. duty
on paper, and the result was that in eighteen years
the number of paper manufacturers was reduced
from 525 to 393, though during that period there was
no other trade that had decreased. The woollen manu-
facture was, he supposed, a protected and petted in-
terest. In that manufacture they used mill-board, but
when it was worn out for that purpose the manu-
facturer was allowed a drawback en the duty on con-
dition that the mill-board was burned, and 300,000
lbs. of mill-board, material of which paper might
be made, were actually burned every year in order
to obtain the drawback, and this under a Govern-

ment which had sent circulars to our consuls abroad
to endeavour to find a new material for paper be-
cause they were afraid that there would be a scar-
city of it.
Mr. T. ROUTLEDGE, of the Eynsham paper mills,
seconded the motion. He said he at one time had
it in contemplation to manfacture what in the trade
was called " half stuff." This half stuff was im-
ported from Russia and other places free of duty,
but he was told by the Board of Inland Revenue
that he could not manufacture it without submit-
ting to restrictions which in fact destroyed the
value of the article, and he consequently gave up
the attempt. There was a great misapprehension
among his fellow manufacturers that they would
find a scarcity of raw material. The fact was there
was no vegetable that grew that would not make
paper, The boards on which they stood would
make paper, and very good paper too. At the pre-
sent time he was making six tons of paper a week
without a particle of rag in it. There was the/et--
lawn tenax, the New Zealand flax, which would
make a magnificent paper, and if the duty were re-
pealed they would get thousands of tons of the ma-
terial. lle exhibited several parcels of fibres made
from the bark of trees. Only four years ago the
whole edition of the limes paper was printed on
paper made from flax straw. Dr. Royal, the
curator of the East India Museum, said the
quantity of fibre that could be sent from India
was illimitable. All that was required was Bri-
tish capital and enterprise. But so long as the ex-
ciseman was at his elbow, the manufacturer could
not adopt any new process or go out of the old way.
He exhibited a sheet of paper, which he said was
strong enough for the chairman to stand upon, and
which he said had not a particle of rag in it.
Mr. FIELDE, who was on the platform, said he
wished to add a rider to the resolution.

The CHAIRMAN said the rider was not important
to the resolution.

Mr. FIELDE, however, persisted, and

The CIIAIRMAN read it as follows :—" That while
fully agreeing with the resolution, this meeting is
of opinion that the sole amount of good which lies
in the repeal of the paper duty cannot be fully
developed without a halfpenny stamp to carry two
ounces of printed matter"—(laughter)--and he put
it to the meeting whether it were relevant, and the
meeting, by an unanimous show of hands, decided
that it was not.

Mr. Alderman FOWLE addressed the meeting in
support of the resolution. The Times, he said,
ridiculed the idea of the re-establishment of paper-
mills in rural districts, and said that Fourdrinier's
machine had destroyed the rural manufacture. He
had a Fourdrinier's machine and hand-mill, and
where he made 10s. by his machinery he made 20s.
by the hand-mill.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
Mr. C. KNIGHT, who was received with enthu-
siastic cheers, moved the next resolution, thanking
Mr. Milner Gibson for his eleven years' service in
the cause, and Mr. Gladstone for his proposal in
his present budget.
Professor KEY seconded the motion, which passed
with acclamation.

Mr. FRANCIS moved, and Mr. WASHINGTON
WILKS seconded the adoption of a petition in favour
of the repeal of the duty on paper.
The resolution having been carried,
Mr. Bourr said he wished to move an amend-
ment, and that the meeting had been deceived.
Some confusion ensued, the meeting apparently
being determined not to hear him.
The CHAIRMAN read the amendment, which was
to the effect that the petition be not presented until
we have a free trade in rags with France and Ger-
many, and he took a show of hands as to whether
it should be put, but only two or three hands were
held up for it. Mr. Bohn, however, persisted for
some time in endeavouring to address the meeting,
who would not hear him, and at length he retired,
and a vote of thanks having been given to the
chairman the meeting separated.

PRIVATE THEATRICALS AT WEYMOUTH.—These
antertaininents, which have been so fashionable during the
past winter, have nowhere been more successful than at
Weymouth, where some performances wore given last
week, the principal actors being the officers of the Royal
Engineers and of the Bedfordshire Militia. The plays of
" Love in Humble Life" and " A Thumping Legacy"
were, according to the local accounts, admirably given ;
but the chief attraction and the greatest success was a piece
called " One Good Turn Deserves Another," written ley
Captain Otway, the author sustaining a principal part. All
the notabilities of the town and county were present, and
on the conclusion of the dramatic performances a ball took
place which was remarkable for its brilliancy.
THE COLLIERY ACCIDENT NEAR WOLTER-
IIAMPTOM.—At the Wolverhampton petty sessions yester-
day Mr. Claydon, of the Oxford Circuit, instructed by Mr.
Ward, attorney, Wolverhampton, applied for a warrant
against Johnson and Fereday, the engine-tenders in charge
of the engine, the failure of which occasioned the death of
seven persons at Nowcross Colliery, near Wolverhampton,
a month ago. The application was, however, refused, the
bench desiring to await the event of the proceedings taken
against Fisher, the head engineer, which conies on by ad-
journment on Friday next.
STRIKE OF FEMALE HANDS AT LEEDS FLAX
MILLS.—The female hands in several of the Leeds flax
mills have struck for an advance of Gd. per week per head,
which would increase their wages from Gs. Gd to 7s. per
week. One large employer stopped his mill ou Friday, and
has not since resumed ; others, who also refused to accede
to the demand, have since agreed to give an advance, but
couple it with a 3d. "quartering," if a full week's work is
not worked out. As there is no organisation among the
masters, it is not improbable that the hands may succeed,
On Saturday crowds of the females paraded tlio streets, and
madc'a somewhat noisy demonstration,
[AivEnTls.mmsrr.l—liolloway's Pills and Ointment.—
Deterre butt ton of Blood to the Head—l'alsy—Apoplexy.—The
daily press abounds with sudden deaths, chiefly resulting
from these diseases. They never come on momentarily ; pre-
monitory symptoms always herald their advent, which may
assuredly be altogether averted by timely use of Holloway's
prepare' lap s, which draw the blood from the head. The olnte
meut should be rubbed into the nape and sides of the neck
twice a day, while the Pills are being taken. The Pills and
Ointment soon equalise the circulation, remove the giddiness,
and overcome the nervousness. Alter regulating the flow of
blood, these purifying remedies act most beneficially on every
organ, and during their wholesome operation the entire body
is rendered healthier than before the thretitunctit4tltwit.
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