The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-20 00:00:00

DUTY ON PAPER

MEETING OF MANUFACTURERS.
An important meeting of paper-manufacturers was
held at the London Coffee-house, Ludgate-hill, yes-
terday, for the purpose of taking steps to procure
the total abolition of the duty on paper in the ap •
proaching session of Parliament. At one o'clock Mr.
John Dickinson was called to the chair.
The CHAIRMAN said he felt great satisfaction in
seeing so many respectable paper manufacturers pre-
sent at the meeting. In the year 1836, when by a
vigorous effort they succeeded in obtaining a re-
duction of the duty, a hope was entertained
that the law would be placed on a more
certain basis by the equalisation of the
duty. That hope had, however, been disappointed ;
and there was now no other means of removing the
difficulties under which they laboured, except their
total abolition.—(Hear, hear.) The amount of duty
paid, in 1836, on some branches of manufacture was
not less than 150 per cent. ; it was now reduced to
about 80 per cent. He then proceeded to describe a
process of paper-making, for which a patent was
taken out in 1833, which had been exempted from
the payment of duty, on account of the mode of ma-
nufacture. The paper in question was called sheath.
ing and rasping paper. The Excise authorities had
declined to enforce the duty, notwithstand-
ing the apparent stringency of the last Act;
and the fact, that the law could not be made
to reach such a case formed a powerful reason in fa-
your of the abolition of the duty. If the duty were
145. per cwt. upon an article, the original cost of which
was only about 18s., how was it possible to compete
with the inventors of this process ? The Excise had
attempted and failed to remedy the evil. A case of
defrauding the revenue had lately come before the
Court: of Exchequer, and such cases were in fact
extremely common. A superannuated paper-maker
had confessed, that in the mill where he was employed,
in a distant part of the country, it was cus-
tomary to pay half the duty, and retain
the other half.—(hear, hear.) The present law was
most pernicious in its operation upon other branches
of trade. It affected millwrights, hair and felting
manufacturers, printers, bookbinders, cardmakers, and
many other classes. The late Mr. Rees, of the firm.
of Longman and Co., had stated before a Committee
of the House of Commons that, on the average, only
one publication in three paid its expenses, and that
publishers were obliged to remunerate themselves in
the price of the one for the loss on the other two.
The peculiarity of the injustice was, that the duty
was paid upon the whole of the paper used, whether
the work succeeded or failed ; a practice totally
different from that which prevailed in the
case of dealers in brandy and gin, who paid
no duty whilst the spirits were in bond.—(llear,
hear.) If this law operated thus injuriously upon,
publications, it must operate also on education.—
(Hear.) Persons of all political parties, and of as re-
ligious opinions, were now agreed as to the necessity
of extending facilities for education ; it was
recognised as the right of the poor and the
duty of the rich—(Hear, hear)—but the present
tax on paper greatly diminished the advantages to be
derived from that source.--(Hear, hear.) He firmly
believed that the abolition of this duty would confer
benefit, not on], on the poor, but on almost every
class of persons in this country. Some opposition wus
expected from the stationers, but he did not think
it would be near so great as it was in 1836. As
regarded the persons engaged in the manufacture, he
believed the repeal of the duty would lead to the em-
ployment of as many additional hands as already
derived their subsistence from that source. He had
no hesitation whatever in making the assertion that
such would be the result.
Sir W. MAGNAY, Bart., stated that he had received
letters from several paper-manufacturers in different
parts of the country, expressing the full concur.
rence of the writers in the object of the meet-
ing. He believed the chief objeetinn of the
stationers had reference to the uncertainty caused
by the agitation of the question. If the duty
were abolished at once, a great part of the
difficulty would be removed. He conceived that one
great advantage of the change would be the employ-
ment given to women. There was no class of females
in the country who were suffering so much as the
distressed needlewomen, and such persons might
by this means be greatly relieved. He
concluded by referring to the importation of
certain boxes from France without paying duty;
and contended that the many hardships of that nature
which constantly occurred, entitled the manufacturers
of the country to the total abolition of the duty.
Mr. GAUSEN proposed a resolution, embodying the
sentiments of the meeting in reference to the object
for which it had been convened.
The resolution being seconded, was carried unani-
mously.
Mr. NORRIS urged upon the meeting the absolute
necessity, if they took any steps at all, of acting
vigorously, and bringing the question to a speedy issue.
No one could doubt that the 5 per cent. duty, which
had been imposed, had, from the very first, been paid
out of the pocket of the manufacturer.—(Hear, hear.)
He thought that if, by any means, they could indem-
nify parties who had a large stock on hand against
loss, they would obviate any great difficulty and
secure more combined efforts.
A resolution was then carried appointing several
gentlemen to act as a committee, and to take such
steps, by communicating with the Government, and
in other ways, as would be most likely to accomplish
the object.
A vote of thanks was then given to the Chairman,
and the meeting dispersed.