The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-02-23 00:00:00

LOCAL MEETINGS.

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west America and Ceylon.
WEST DERBY GUARDIANS.—At the weekly meeting
on Wednesday, the governor of the workhouse stated
that there were upwards of 472 persons now in the house.
Mr. J. B. Nevins was appointed surgeon to the work-
house, in the room of Mr. Fell, who died front fever
caught in the discharge of his duty at the fever ward;
and the sum of £5O was voted to his widow, subject to
the approval of the Poor Law Commissioners. The Law-
clerk was requested to advertise for a proper person to fill
the office of surgeon for the district of Litherland. Mr.
Greatrex sent in his resignation as surgeon to the muni-
cipal district of West Derby.
A meeting was held at Woolton, on Thursday, for the
purpose of establishing a Mechanics' Institution there.
Richard Alison, Esq , was called to the chair. A design
of the proposed building, to be erected on a plot of ground,
belonging to Mr. Roskell, near the smithy on the Aller-
ton-road, was produced. The plan as at present agreed
upon is, to make the lower story consist of two dwellings,
the rent from which will assist the infant establishment.
A properly trained schoolmaster will be appointed at a
salary of £7O per annuin, and a schoolmistress at £5O.
The capital to be raised for the purchase of the ground,
&c., is £5OO, allotted into shares of £1 each. The insti-
tution will be supported by annual subscribers of Bs. per
annum, shareholders paying only Gs.

Docx CommirrEE, THURSDAY.-Mr. Henderson al-
luded to a case which had been brought before the sti-
pendiary magistrate, where a captain was charged with
entering one of the docks in the nighttime when the flag
was up ; the magistrate, however,dismissed the complaint
on the ground that it was impossibte to see the flags
during the night. It was ordered that the attention of
the Harbour-master should be called to the subject. The
chairman said that the Parliamentary Committee had
thought proper, in the first instance, to oppose the Bir-
kenhead Dock Amalgamation Bill on two grounds : the
first was, that the title of the Company being " The Bir-
kenhead And Liverpool Dock Company," was likely to
lead to great confusion in many instances ; and the other
was, that proprietors of docks over the water should not
be qualified to sit on that committee. He submitted a
letter from Mr. Potter, in which it was stated that the
name would be changed to the Birkenhead and Hercula-
neum Company, and that the proprietors should be dis-
qualified from sitting at that board. The objections being
thus removed, the Parliamentary Committee would not
oppose the bill any longer. Mr. Mann thought there
should be an extension of the principle, and that the pro-
prietors of the docks alluded to should not be members
of the Council. The chairman said they had no power,
and if anything were done it must be by a proposition of
the Council.

OL B,T AND IR Dr

RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE TEA TRADE.

The growth of the commerce between this country and
the Chinese empire in the article of tea, as described in
the able publication of Mr. W. Nothomery Martin, af-
fords a singularly interesting illustration of the beneficial
results derived from the enterprise of modtrn commerce.
Within less than two hundred`years, a trade in an innu-
tritious herb has progressed from the most paltry begin-
ning, when the article was regarded as a must expensive
luxury, until it employs British capital to the extent of
£10,000,000 sterling, furnishes employment to 60,000 tons
of British shipping, contributes nearly £5•,000,000 ster-
ling to the revenue, and has become a necessary article of
consumption amongst all ranks of the British people.
The use of the tea plant in China is first referred to
about the end of the Bth century. In 1600, dried leaves
(of tea) were noticed as in general use amongst the Chi-
nese, and in 1633 amongst the Persians. The Hollanders
appear to have first introduced it into. consumption in
Europe. The first notice we have of its use in England
is in 1660, when a duty of eightpence per gallon was laid
upon all tea made and sold in coffee houses. 'At this
time, it was sold at three guineas per- lb. Up to 1688, •
our limited supplies were drawn from the continent ; but
in that year, the East India Company ordered 100 lbs. to
be shipped from their factory in Java, and in 1669 the
first invoice was received, consisting of two canisters of
1431 lbs. weight. •
In 1680 the company opened a direct trade with China ;
and in 1689, the mode of collecting the duty upon the
quantity used in the coffee-houses being found uncertain
in its results, a customs' duty of five shillings a pound
was imposed. In the years 1697-98, and 99 the importa-
tion was 20,0001b5. annually. In 1700 it had risen to
60,0001b5. a year, and the average price was sixteen shil-
lings a pound. In 1721 the importation for the first time
exceeded 1,000,0001b5.
The trade gradually progressed up to the commence-
ment of the present century, when it closely approached
to 30,000,000 lbs. per annum. From that period it has
increased to 56,503,000 lbs. which was the import in 1846,
whilst the consumption has been decreasing in Europe
and America, where the duty has been nominal. Since
the commencement of this century the enormous quantity
of 1,385,949,566 lbs. of tea have been sold in England,
which has produced to the revenue about £167,643,702
sterling.
Mr. Martin gives the present average consumption of
China tea in different countries as follows, in round
numbers : lbs.
" Great Britain and Ireland 45,000,000
British North America & West Indies 2,500,000
Australasia, Cape of Good Hope, &c. 2,500,000
British India and Eastern Islands 2,000,000
Total in British empire 52,000,000

United States of America.
Russia
France and colonies 500,000
Hanse Towns, &c. 500,000
Holland and its colonies
Belgium 200,000
Denmark, Sweden, and Norway
The German States..
Spain and Portugal..
Italian States 50,000
South American States

Total consumption in foreign countries 20,250,000

Thus the English consumed more than twice the quan-
tity of tea that is consumed by all the other countries ex-
cept China and Japan. It will be seen on referring gene-
rally to the Canton price currents, that the cost price of
tea has increased in Canton since the abolition of the East
India Company, and not until February and March did
prices fall. "An increased demand in. China has always
caused an enhanced price."
From the tone of the Above remarks it will be readily
inferred that Mr. Martin is averse to any tampering with
the present tea duties.