The Sun.
London, England, 1842-09-30 00:00:00

SPIRITS AND WINE.

The number of gallons of proof spirits distilled in
the United Kingdom,. in the year ending January
5, 1842, sins : in England, 5,919,207 ; in Scotland,
8,504,333 ; in Ireland, 6,359,124; total, 20,782,664.-
The number of gallons of proof spirits on which
duty was paid for consumption, during the same
period, was, in "England, 8,166,985 ; in Scotland,
5,989,905 ; in Irelaud, 6,485,443: total, 20,642,333.
The amount of duty paid upon this quantity of spirits
was 5,161,6101. 15s. 6d.
The difference between the number of gallons dis-
tilled and the number on which duty was paid fbr
consumption, in England, gives us the quantity of
whisky consumed in this country, namely, 2,247,778
gallons. The lovers of this spirit, who, relying on
the professions of dealers, flatter themselves with
the notion that they are supplied with " pure
malt whisky," will be a little surprised to learn
that the whole quantity of whisky made from malt
consumed in England amounts to only 520,942 gal-
lons ! From Scotland we get 1,894,657 gallons of
whisky, but the " canny" Scot takes care to send us
only 519;009 gallons of the malt; the rest consists of
a " mixture of malt with unmalted grain," which,
doubtless, is considered good enough for the stomachs
of English "loons ;" and so it is as long as they put
up with it. From Ireland we obtain 1,933 gallons
made from malt. Turning to Scotland, we find that
of the 5,989,905 gallons consumed in that country
5,375,162 were made from malt, and only 614,743
from a mixture of malt with unmalted grain. In Ire-
land the case is reversed; of the 6,485,443 gallons
consumed, 0n1y:527,196 were made from malt, and
5,958,247 from a mixture of malt with unmalted grain.
The number of gallons of proof ruin, brandy,
Geneva, and other foreign and colonial spirits, con-
sumed in England between the sth of January, 1841,
and the sth of January, 1842, was 3,344,922; iu
Scotland it was 88,814; in Ireland, 30,338. The
total amount of duty paid on this quantity of spirit
was 2,417,166/.

It is curious to contrast the consumption of spirits
of all kinds.with the population, thus :

Population. Consumption
of Spirits.
England (and Wales) 13,911,725 ... 11,511,907
Scotland 2,628,957 ... 6,078,719
Ireland ..... 8,205,382 ... 6,515,781
Without troubling the reader with minute fractions,
the above figures give two quarts and one gill as the
quantity of spirits consumed per head (that is, in-
cluding every man, woman, and child) in England;
two gallons, one quart, and one gill per head for
Scotland; and three quarts and one quartern in Ireland
This account will probably excite some little mt.-.
prise. If the question were mooted in any English
or Scotch company, in which part of the United
Kingdom the largest quantity of spirits was con-
sumed, the reply would immediately be " Ireland."
The quantity consumed in Ireland certainly is large
yet it is comparatively insignificant when contrasted
with the quantity consumed in Scotland, which
allows no less than two gallons one quart and
half a .pint for every man, woman, and child
We are accustomed to hear the use of ardent
spirits spoken of as being the fruitful source of
crime in England awl Ireland ; but what is the
case as regards Scotland' The people of Scot-
land are, undoubtedly, the most virtuous andordietrlys
portion of the population of the United Kingdom, and
yet they. drink inure spirits than any other. Persons
who are in the habit of drawing hasty conclusions m.;pli'd
say that in Scotland virtue and order resulte:i from
the drinking of spirits. We do not say so, for
not our purpose to draw conclusions, but merely to
furnish the materials for speculation to others. As-
suming, however, that the use of spirits tends to pro.
duce crime, there must be a strong counteracting in_
fluence in Scotland.

The number of gallons of foreign: wine on which
duty was paid for home consumption in the Unite
Kingdom in the year ended sth January, 1842,
6,184,960 ; of which Portuguese 2,387,017, Spar•,sh.
2,412,821, French 353,740, Cape 441,238, Madeira
107,701, Sicilian and other sorts 401,429 a Rhenish
55,242, Fayal 137.

KIRK,_--In a late 'lumbar
THE QUEEN AND .THE
tvi,ii:
Kirk duringsiie her
hl recent
we expressed an opinion that the Queen haA---,- --
been
well advised in avoiding
-Intrusion organs for whast thenen
^:e with which
assailedvisit Theby tiNle• i 1.1,111;1 eotn)
construe is a slight, or rather as a downright '
insult
to the people of Scotland, shows that had she
a contrary course, they would, in all probabil,hs pursued
turned it to party uses. Irrespective, there-fo • ;If°
the unreasonableness of supposing it im le
of
her Majesty to change the form of perative on
her worship
simply because she had shifted her
geographical
position, we hold that the present rebellous a
of the Church would have formed ittitude
reason for her non-attendance on it 11
*suffici:ent
s r
We learn,
however, on undoubtedtnmstrat;tons.
W authority
, that
the real cause of her Majesty's
not
attending church
when in Edinburgh, was her dislike to perform her
devotions in a man •
Vet• ostentatiously public. To be
stared at by largn multitudes of people when en-
gaged ill that Virticular duty, was what sle could not
recr.,ncile herself to, and hence she preferred Mr.
11amsay's ministrations at Dalkeith House. This
fact is in accordance with all we know of the Queen's
personal habits at Buckingham Palace, where she al-
ways attends the chapel of St. James's Palace in the
greatest privacy; and although, as we have stated,
1 the course adopted by her Majesty would have beer,
justifiable on widely different grounds, we think it
proper that her actual motive should be understood by
the public. it will, we have no doubt, be appre-
ciated by every devotional mind, and innst put to
shame the indecent attacks levelled at her Majesty by
1 certain l lot-headed partisans of the Church.—Scot.rman.
RBI Amatory ACuinENT AT GonnoNx.-....0n
Friday Iv', Mr. Charles Hampton Turner, of Let,-
1,140,', a young man whose family is of good standing
ii the neighl;Ourbocd, and who is s°ll of Mr. c. if
Turner of Rook's-nest, was discovered by a lal ' •
in his employ, lying by the side of a ditch. j"rer
back, quite dead with a gun by his side on his
brains blown out by means of a gun-shot, .3' and I'll
II head. An inquest was taken before Atr. iu his fore-
' Coroner for the county, when the Ju • Carti.,
the
verdict that " the deceased died Jury brought in a
from
wound, but there was no decided a gun-shot
by what means he received the- evidence to prove
time they were led to believe satie; at the same
it was from accident." f
mu the evidence, that
By a recent ordonnance of
meat, the duty on printed the Neapolitan Govern.
dominions of the King books imported into the
The duty in future of Naples is reduced one-half.
French per will be equal to 66 centimes
size; lf. Pe, for volume for octavos, or books of a smaller
redttetio_
n has, in fact, been virtually in existence by
way of favour for '
some tun past, but it had not been
formally. e
proclaimed. Under its operation, the im-
portation of books into the Neapolitan dominions has
greatly increased. In 1839, only 26,609 volumes, of
which 7,183 were from France, passed through the
Custom Houses. In the following year, the number,
Owing to the facility alluded to, was 60,916, of which
35,480 were from France.

i'IiKENIASONRI7.—The late Earl of Leicester, when
Brother Thomas William Coke, was initiated into
our Ancient and Honourable Fraternity. A mind
like his could scarcely fail of being deeply imbued
with a love of those active principles of benevolence
which Masonry inculcates, and after devoting himself
to its mysteries and duties, he received from his
Royal
i ighness, the Grand Master, the highest
honour his power to bestow, being named by his illus-
trious friend Provincial Grand Master of his native
province, his installation being performed in person
br the Royal Duke, in the ancient and venerable
city of Norwich. In the village is a school-house,
built and endowed by the late Earl, when Mr. Coke,
for thirty-three boys and thirty-three girls; and there
are almshouses for aged men and women, founded by
the last Countess of Leicester. In addition to the
scoools for the boys and girls, our noble brother built
i
and a school forn-
and supported a Sunday school,-
fants.—Freentaeon's Quarterly Review for October.