The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-10 00:00:00

and more numerous readers who would like to know

a little about it, without reading it, we offer a few

remarks on its principal items.
First in order stands the Excise. And far above
all other duties, in its profitableness to the national

exchequer, stands the duty on spirits. Were the
nation to adopt a Maine Liquor Law, not less than
£10,000,000 would be sacrificed under this head
alone. But to this would have to be added
£6,850,000 for malt also ; for though what pays

duty is used for making beer and porter, yet these
are, as the neighbours to every beer-shop know too
well, intoxicating beverages. We are certainly far
. enough removed from the possibility of such a law,
but it is a curious subject for speculation, how we
could supply such a gap in the Budget if it were
but to be made. It seems, however, to be a steadily

increasing tax ; and all that the Maine-force
men can do is to push up the duties to the
utmost height which will not defeat both their
own objects and those of our Chancellors of the
Exchequer, by encouraging smuggling. One sin-
gular fact is mentioned in the Report, though it

does not seem to have struck the Commissioners in
that light. The Excise has been needlessly, vexa-

tiously, and expensively stringent in its regulations
for the distillers. The treaty with France provides

an extra duty of 2d. only per gallon, as compensa-
tion for the peculiar obstructions to which our dis-

tillers are subjected by the Excise. The distillers,
however, convinced the authorities that the disad-
vantage under which they were placed, compared
with foreigners, was not less in money than nine-
pence halfpenny per gallon. As the treaty surtax

could not be raised, the Excise equalised things

by renzoving a considerable number of restrictions,
and making more equitable allowances for waste.
It is not easy, therefore, to doubt that the abolished

restrictions amounted to a heavy charge on the
customer, with no corresponding advantage to the
revenue. The treaty has rendered us, doubtless,
this little service, such as it is. We could
only wish it had been in some article of
less questionable utility. It is gratifying to
notice that smuggling is on the decrease, and that
the export trade in spirits is very largely increased.

The Malt Duty is also in a prosperous state,
since allowing for the anticipation of duty there is
still a very considerable increase in the amount.
The manufacture itself was also larger than that of
1859 by 1,760,399 bushels. It appears that on
account of the higher duties on spirits in Scotland
a considerably larger quantity of beer was con-
sumed there ; and that the free admission of foreign
barley, with an improvement (certainly much
needed) in its quality, has enabled the maltsters to
meet the increased demand. It is also in contem-
plation to make the trade in malt free by removing
the prohibition on the importation of foreign
malt, and also the disadvantages, which are very
serious, under which exporters of English-made
malt now lie. In regard to beer, also, it is grati-
fying to observe a considerable increase of expor-
tation—almost five-and-twenty per cent.—on that
of 1859. The Report, which reckons its year up
to the 31st of March, speaks of five years
in succession most prosperous for the pro-
duction of hops. Though twelve thousand
acres have been withdrawn from cultivation, the
average annual produce has amounted to
61,000,0001b5. ; while, for the 10 years ending in
1854, it was not quite 36,000,0001b5. per annum, the
diminished acreage yielding almost a double return.
Hop-growers, however, tell us that as the duty re-
mains the same, and interferes with the sale largely,
they are frequently worse off with a large crop
than with a small one. And, that hence has
arisen, in part, the agitation for the repeal of the
,cluty. The crop will, we presume, this year, be
small enough. The last year's duty was not much
under half a million.

The next subject on which the Commissioners
comment is that of Stamps—a class of duties which
now follow us into every transaction of life. No-
where can you escape stamps. The fury of the
waves, and the fierceness of fire, and the event
which creates widows and orphans, instead of
moving our Chancellors of the Exchequer to pity
for your dangers or calamities, only move them to
demand a stamp-tax on your providence in insuring.
You ought, then, to hazard your propeety, to
gamble with it—Oh dear, no ! the " stamps" fix
their mark on your cards and dice, as well as on
insurance policies. You marry, down come the
" stamps" upon your license or certificate. You think
better or worse of it, and get a divorce
but already the " stamps" have clutched some,
£5,000 from the Divorce Court itself ! You are
sick, but the " stamps" have been before you to
the doctor, and branded your patent medicine.
You are, it may be, so full of health and vigour
that you must foot it over the moors or the fields
with your pointers and gun—again the " stamps"
have you with their lidense. In two cases, those
of letters and newspapers, we acknowledge -that
the stamps represent some service done; done, how-
ever, so dearly to what a trading company could
do it, that " stamps" assert their right to a full
half of what you pay. And then do what you will
affecting property, draw up " deeds or other in-
struments"—meddle with " Law, Equity, or the
Exchequer,"
go even to the " Admiralty," and
" stamps" still keep their mark upon You. Draw
up the most common agreement, write a letter to
your banker for. money, or to pay money fer you,
'draw a cheque even to yourself, issue notes as a
bsnker, receive money from your neighbour, get his
promise to pay—in fact, make money, or take
money, and in many cases pay money, and the
omnipresent ,c stamps" are down upon you. They
follow you now to the registry office, fixing them-
selves on copies of the registration of births and
deaths, of marriages and baptisms alike.
And not only that, but they go with
3ou to your warehouse, and not a sale,
transfer, or delivery of your own goods can you
effect there, but the " stamps" will have their share.
They haunt your whole life like evil genii. You
are stamped in your business and in your pleasure;
in your precaution ant your recklessness; you live
a stamped life and you die a stamped death; for the
P __guy ant
probate dutie3
stamps of her MAJESTY'S I
wind up the results of your mortality.
Lucky for us if we are not stamped out of all
patience, and almost out of existence at last. We
may expect now that every year the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, in his anti-budget consultations with
" the departments," will put as one of his first
questions—" And what new stamps, gentlemen ?"
And, as the great King offered a prize for the
I ie eention of a new pleasure, so the prizes will be at
the Exchequer for the invention of a new stamp
Promotion in the civil service by merit will become,
almost identical with promotion for discovering
something fresh to stamp. The point of merit will
be, that the stamp shall be too small to create a
'hubbub, too difficult of evasion to fail in applica-
tion, and associated as much as may be with what
people must do or very much like to do. r Mre may
presume that none of our English Chancellors will
aspire to imitate VESPASIAN, but they seem to be
on the high road to temptation. We beg to suggest
Ia stamp—one on long epeeches in the House of
Commons. It should be on a rapidly ascending
; i scale—after, say, the first half hour. Mr. GLAD-
_
lume.had something handsome from it