The Sun.
London, England, 1829-05-13 00:00:00

MALT AND BEER DUTIES.

Mr. SLANEY, in bringing the question respect-
ing the duties on beer and malt before the House,
was afraid he should have to detain the House for a
short time. The question respecting the supply of
malt liquor to the people of this country was one of
great importance to the working classes of the com-
munity, to whose industry we were all indebted ; it
was of much consequence to the landed proprietors,
and of the deepest interest to his Majesty's Govern-
ment. To the working classes, malt liquor was a
necessary of life, and no less than 10,000,000 of
people were interested in the subject he was about
to discuss. The landed gentlemen of this country
were also directly interested, because the second
grain produce of their estates was in immediate re-
lation to the quantity of corn consumed ; and with
respect to the revenue, this question would soon, as
he should presently show, be of the greatest im-
portance. He would state now- the manner in which
he meant to enter into the subject. It divided it-
self into three heads. Ist. The progress and de-
cline of the malt and beer trade ; 2d, the causes of
the decline; and 3d, the evil consequences of the
decline, and its remedy. The quantity of malt
tnadein this country was a measure of the comfort
of the working classes, as malt liquor constituted a
necessary of life to ten millions of people; and it
also constituted a measure of the prosperity of the
landed interest, because it regulated the consump-
tion of the second grain. By returns before the
House, of the malt made in England and Wales,
from 1787 to 1828, it appeared that in 'the first
year 3,400,000 quarters of malt were made, and in
1828, 40 years afterwards, the quantity was
3,100,000 quarters, being a diminution, in the space
of 40 years, of no less than 300,000 quarters. It
might be asked why he did not take the year 1829
into his calculation, in which year there was a
trilling increase, the quantity being 3,800,000
quarters ? The reason he had not taken that year
was, because it was an extraordinary year for malt.
By the united testimony of all maltsters, there had
not been such a year for twenty years past. He
would now call the attention of the House to a point
which marked more strongly the diminution in the
quantity of malt. In 1787 the population of this
kingdom was 7,400,000 persons, and in 1829, accor d-
ing to the population returns, it was 13,500,000 per-
sons, making an increase in the population of above
6,800,000 persons. Whilst this increase had taken
place there had been a diminution in the consumption
of the national beverage. He asked whether that cir-
cumstance was not sufficient in itself to call for in-
quiry. The consumption of this article had de-
(lined, whilst the population had increased. He
would ask any gentleman whether the consumption
of any other manufacture had decreased in a similar
way ? In 1787 each person consumed on an ave-
rage three bushels and seven pints of malt annually.
The consumption of malt, therefore, by the present
increased population,ought to be increased to no less
an extent than 19,000,000 bushels to what it was in
1787. In 1787 the consumption of malt was
27,000,000 of strikes ; and the consumption in
1828, taking into consideration the increase in the
population, ought to have been 41;,000,000 strikes,
instead of being 24,800,000 strikes--a diminution
of nearly one-half of what it ought to have been.
Let the House look for some cause for this dimi-
nution in the consumption of malt, at the very time
when an increase ought to have taken place. He
bad only stated what the increase in the consump-
tion ought to have been, in proportion to the in-
crease in the population ; but to understand the
question fully, the House should consider what the
increase in the consumption of malt ought to have
been, in proportion to the increase in the consump-
tion of other articles. Let the House look to the
increase which had taken place in cultivation. From
1801 to 1828, 1,806 enclosure Acts had passed. On
an average, there were 1,600 acres of land in each
enclosed land ; and taking two-thirds of the lands
enclosed during the above stated period to be in
England and Wales, there would have been above
2,000,000 of additional acres thrown into cultiva-
tion. Many lands, too? were enclosed without Acts,
and many were misch improved previous to enclo-
sure, and were therefore' capable of giving greater
production; add for this 1,000,000 of acres, Had
upon the whole there would have been 3,000,000
of additional acres thrown into cultivation dur-
ing the period from 1801 to 1828. The House
would then see from this calculation, that with a
population increased to the amount of 6,000,000
persons, and with 3,000,000 additional acres
of land thrown into cultivation, there had
been a diminution instead of increase in the con-
sioiption of malt. This ditnitintiOn did not arise
from general poverty or from. want of the powii of
consumption among the poorer classes. What then
did
consumption of malt liisMr. These causes were
t t:c tgicpa
pirr4tos, ▪
efcTrss)h pmef
'':From causes peculiarly sleeting
first was the impolitic meddling in
every
the manufacture, and in not per-
tnitting the manufacturer to use that intelligence and
skill whi▪
ch the manufacturer applied to every other
manufacture. The second cause was the over-
whelming duties on malt, which were far heavier
than were placed on any other manufacture; and
the third cause was the great and numerous restrie-