The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-10-14 00:00:00

CONSUMPTION OF spin' rs AND WINE.

The number of gallons of proof spirits distilled in the
United Kingdom, in the year ending January 5, 1842, wa—
in England, 5,Q19,207 ; 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 Ireland, 6,485,44 p ; total, 20,642,333. The
amount of duty paid upon this quantity of spirits, was
£5,161.610. 15s. 6d. The difference between the number
of gallons distilled and the number on which duty was
paid for consumption in England, gives up 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 gallons. From Scotland we get 1,894,657 gal-
lons 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 614,745
from a mixture of malt with unmalted grain. In Ireland the
case is reversed; of the 6,485,443 gallons consumed, only
527,196 were made from malt, and 5,958,247 from a mixture
of malt with unmalted grain. The number of gallons of proof
rum, brandy, geneva, and other foreign and colonial spirits,
consumed in England between the sth of January, 1841, and
the sth of January, 1842, was 3,344,922 ; in 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 Wa1e5........ 15,911,725.... 11,511,907
Scotland. .
Ireland . 8,205,382.... 6,515,781
.
Without troubling the reader with minute fractions, the
above figures give 2 quarts and 1 gill as the quantity of spirits
consumed per head (that is including every man, woman, and
child in England); 2 gallons 1 quart and 1 gill per head for
Scotland ; and 3 quarts and 1 quartern in Ireland. This ac-
count will probably excite some little surprise. If the ques-
tion were mooted in any English or Scotch company, in
which part of the United Kingdom the largest quantity of
spirits was consumed, the reply would immediately be " Ire-
land." 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, wo-
man, and child ! We are accustomed to hear the use of ar-
dent spirits spoken of as being the fruitful source of crime in
England and Ireland ; but what is the case as regards Scot-
land ? The people of Scotland are, undoubtedly, the most
virtuous and orderly portion of the population of the United
Kingdom, and yet they drink more spirits than any other.
Persons who are in the habit of drawing hasty conclusions,
might say, that in Scotland virtue and order resulted from
the drinking of spirits. We do not say so, for it is not our
purpose to draw conclusions, but merely to furnish the ma-
terials for speculation to others. Assuming, however, that
the use of,spirits tends to produce crime, there must be a
strong counteracting influence in Scotland. Are we to look
for it in the religious habits of the people of that country
The number of gallons of foreign wine on which duty was
paid for home consumption in the United Kingdom in the
year ended the sth of January, 1842, was 6,184,960 ; of
which Portuguese 2,387,017, Spanish 2,412,821, French
353,740, Cape 441,238, Madeira 107,701, Sicilian and othe
sorts 401,429, Ithemish 55,242, Fayal 137.

IMPROMPTU ON A RECENT EXTRAORDINARY OCCASION.
The tale, dear sirs, this useful hint inspires,
That naught that's Woolley should contend with Briers.
QUIZZING A QUAKER AND CATCHING A TARTAR.—
Friend Aminabab was in from the country, and called at a
book store where he wished to make some purchases. He
had on a suit of home-made drab, and the identical broad-
brim that had sheltered his head and shoulders from sun and
storm for the last five years. He could not exactly find the
book he wanted, and was perhaps a little troublesome. So
at least thought the salesman—a pert youngster in starch and
buckram. " You are from the country, are you not sir?
asked he a little impudently. " Yes." " Well, here's an
essay on the rearing of calves." " That," says Aminadab,
as he turned.to leave the store, "thee had better present to
thy mother."

TAXES UPON TRAVELLERS.—There is one branch of trade
that seems to baffle the rules of political economy, as it does
the ruins of every other kind of economy—the trade of inn-
keeping. There is abundance of capital in this country to
stock inns withal—abundance, redundancy of labour; com-
petition is open : competition begets good quality and cheap-
ness ; yet our inns remain dear, and in many instances bad.
The case of a correspondent, who invites us to publish a
narrative of his wrongs, is neither singular nor caricatured.
Yet the breach of the laws of commerce is, after all, more
apparent than real ; and we have, as usual, more to blame
ourselves than the peccant hosts. Until very recently,
travellers belonged, exclusively to two classes. One class
was the wealthy, who are not only accustomed to luxury, but
accustomed to pay for luxury. The other consisted of com-
mercial men. For the accommodation of those two classes,
the customs of inns have been framed ; each has had
its distinct class of apartments, distinct style of enter-
tainment and of service, distinct scale of prices. Tra-
vellers of the middle class were compelled to conform.
to the usage instituted in behalf of one class or other—they
must either frequent the " commercial room " and the soci-
ety of " bas-men," or they must assume the more dignified
liabilities of aristocracy," and pay posting prices though
they posted not. If women• were of the party, there was
little choice; for the " commercial room" is not the sphere
for the gentle sex. But haste and wholesale dealings have
often been the excuse for indifferent quality and frequent
imperfection ; and the decaying state of the inn keeping
trade has helped further to deteriorate the quality of inns
and inn-wares, though the prices still keep up. Nor are
board and lodging the only things demanded at inns, or the
only ingredients in price. Two other things are in request
in this country—despatch and servility. A shilling or two
may be reasonably added to the bill for dinner, when it is
served as fast as a waiter can say, " Yes, sir !" and five
seconds too much devoted to frying or dishing-up would
make the dinner lose everything punctual—appointment,
stage, train, or steam-boat—order, commission, or fare.
It is ti per centage as a guarantee for punctuality, the
breach of which is costly ; it is a real charge for service
done. But servility is the peculiar and most precious ware
in this country. With all our " political and social equality,
our convivial bragging that the " rank is but the guinea-
stamp", anti. our electioneering saturnalia, we eagerly covet
servility in others and readily pay it ourselves. In none of
the highly civilized countries of Europe is there so wide a
distance between the several " ranks" or " orders" of so-
ciety. The wealthy class, who have imparted the tone to
inn-manners, greedily exact the homage of servility : the
waiters and even the landlord are paid for being servile;
bows are in the bill ; the waiter speculates in them, and re-
alizes his profit in the fee. There is no doubt, however, that
dearness now helps railways to injure the fortunes of the
lords of the high-roads, whose banners are signs. The mid-
dle class, with the vast increase in the means of transit, have
become a travelling class; even the working-people travel,
as delegates or lecturers, but inns are evaded. Those
who have sufficient strength of mind are content with decent
public-houses; more timid folks avoid the inns by rushing
on, often uncertain whether the indefinite exactions of the
inn officials may not exhaust the scanty purse before the
journey's end. A sense of the growing want of respectable
resting-places, where the charges should be moderate, fixed,
and distinctly stated, has, we believe, led to the establish-
ment, in London, of hotels where such usages obtain ; and
other old inns have followed the example. It is a question
worth mooting, whether the same plan might not be carried
out even further, in our chief towns and travelling stations.
It would conduce to the knowledge -and use of such inns if
they adopted some distinct designation, more precise than
that of commercial hotel or inn, which generally professes
moderate charges. A class of inns having the same designa-
tion throughout the country, approaching to something like
a uniform tariff of charges, and securing to the traveller
substantial comforts, and aid to speed his journey without
needless parade, would be tolerably certain of constant occu.
pation.—Spectator.

PRICES OF SHARES, OCTOBER 13.
Prices within the last seven days. This days
RAILWAYS, &c. Per Share. Prices
Bolton and l'reston
Birmingham and Gloucester
Ditto quarter
Birmingham and Derby lOO .... 0 0 0
Bristol and Exeter 7O .... 0 0 0
Birkenhead and Chester
Ditto, new, issued at dis. .... 00 0 pm.
Dublin and Drogheda
Eastern Counties
Ditto new Shares.... 8 6 8 10 4 10 1 8
Ditto, Debentures
Edinburgh and Glasgow
Ditto new shares ..
Ditto Leigh and Newhaven 20 paid 0 0 0
Glasgow, Paisley, & Greenock 25 paid 15 15 0
Half Shares 9 •• • • 0 0 0
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmar 150 paid 0 0 0 ••••
Greenock, and Ayr
Grand Junction
Ditto half shares 5O .... Its 10 0 ex. 85 10 0
Quarter.,
New ditto.... 7,110.. 24 10 0 ex.
Great Western 65 .... 0 0 0 ex.
Ditto new shares 5O .... 60 2 6 ex.
Ditto Fifth Shares 4 .... 0 0 0 ex.
Great North of England 7OO .... 0 0 0 ...
Hull and Sciby
Lancaster and Preston . • : 47 10 0 0 0 0
Ditto Junction, new
Leicester and Swannington 5O .... 00 0 ...,
Leeds and Selby
Liverpool and Manchester
Ditto quarter shares
. _

Ditto half shares
London and Birmingham 9O .... 183 0 0 ex. 183 0 U
Ditto quarter shares
Ditto old shares
Ditto new
London & Brighton
Ditto new
London and South Western 39 .... 0 0 0
Ditto, 10th shares
Manchester, Bolton, & Bury
Manchester and Birmingham 4O 0 0 0 ....
Ditto and Ditto Extension
Manchester and Leeds 7O 70 10 0
Ditto half shares
Ditto quarter shales
Midland Counties

... _ _ _ _ _ _
Ditto, quarter
Noith Midland lOO .. ~ 0 0 0...
New North Midland 4O .. 0 0 0 ...,

One-third Shares
North Union
Newcastle and Carlisle
Ditto quarter shares
Ulster . 0 0 0
Paris and Rouen 2O .... 22 10 0 22 10 0
South Eastern and Dover 5O , 23 5 0
New shares
York and North Midland 5O paid 0 0 0
Halt Shares l5 0 0 0 ....
BANKS.
Bank of Liverpool 412 lespaid 19 2 6 ••••
- Borough Bank lO 0 0 0 ex.
- Commercial of Liverpool l 0 .... 0 0 0 ....
- Commercial of England, •0 0 0 ....
- East of England lO .... o o 0 ••••
- of Manchester lO 0 0 0 ... •
- M'chester & Dsct. 10 10 0 .
- Northern and Central 10 0 0 0 ...•
- North and South Wales lO .... 0 0 0 •• • •
_ Royal of Liverp00l
- South Lancashire
- Albion
- Liverpool Union lO o o o
- Liverpool Banking Co. 15 n 0 0 ...
- Wilts and Dorset 7 los. 0 0 0 ....
GAS, WATER WORKS, &c.
Exchange Buildings £loo paid 177 0 0 ....
L'pool and Harrington Water) Stock 613 0 0
Works
Bootle Ditto Stock.... 310 0 0 ...
L'poo Gas Light Company,
(Original Stock) 105 0 0 ....
Ditto new Shares.... 100 .... 0 0 0
L'pool New Gas & Cole Co. ."100 0 0 0
Ditto new shares are now paid up.
ASSURANCE COMPANIES.
M'chestcr Assurance Company lO , 0 0 0
Liverpool Fire and Life 2 10s. 0 0 0 ....
Ocean Assurance
Liverpool Marine Assurance 0
paid
0 0 0 ....
Company
DOCKS, FERRIES, NEW COMPANIES, &c.
Anderton Carrying Company .. 16 ss. 0 0 0 ....
Rock Ferry
Steam Tug Company lO 0 0 0 ....
Harrington Docks 100 0 o
Apothecaries' Company
Asphalte (Liverpool) 2• 0 0 0
(P0101:1001111) 2 0, 0 0

AN ACCOUNT OF CATTLE IMPORTED
Into Liverpool, from the 4th to the 11th inst. inclusive.
FROM IRELAND.
Cows. Sheep. Pigs. Horses. Mules. Calves. Lambs,
3968 3976 3127 11 2 100
Prey'.. 53686 98730 127919 833 57 377 16976

COASTWISE.
54 3487 4 13
Prey.. 2691 45583 1193 79

5 2
323 1010