Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1839-05-28

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tea.ng hn laid burdens British products anu
S.as,, Nv way of illustration. | contracted sucn
sysein with tina, adopted by The United s'aus, ;"
intercourse with forri2n nations In oil the.i uea w..
,.uh Great Htta;n from their independence 10 "e pL
son, lime a desire had breR manifested to p,aee m
commerce of both countries on The most p;
That at the moment when The U 5 were aoh,'s"s
fish manufactures almost free OF Duly sue w., LIZ
ONE Of the jmporta nj staples OF American ,nuus'1 W."
d,,, of Tho most injurious and indeiensoie chaiacef
/ mex, proceeded to consider the SUBJECT, Us u ah
u;,;h ;n,s,ess and here the FIRST inquiry naturally
was. whether the benefits intended by Inc meas" %
nm. Of revenue had been secured. 1t oihcla
ana ,bs onipjons Of Enlightened statesmen ana poca'
economists were to be relied on, the answer wpu'I oe
ina, they had not Indeed far from IT, tha Tue pet
Ter opinion seemed TO be, that the whole system heo
.rs,ed M, only in;urously as fiscal scheme, but ia.
tally to the Of the British trader ana maho'ac
tuier.
On this branch Of the subject reference was mace 20
The bodv of evidence and official statements before com
rni,,ees cf Parliament, which established conclusively
the following results: 9ha, the amount OF tobacco con
snmed ut the present time in ireland alone was not less
than 20 900 600 pounds that the duty paid on tobacco
in 1886 was on less than 10000 900 pounds; producing
only about f700 600 Of revenue; 80 that, unoer the
operation Of the present duty three shngs The smug
gle. extracted from the aborng classes OF Ireland ABOUT
20 400 90 sterling per annum. Hence the Government
las Mr. McCuoch shows) collected lis exorbltan. duty
upon one fourth pant only Of the tobacco actually con
sumed in Ireland; the other three ourths being supplied
by the smugger the duty Of three shngs being al once
incentive
nify him for the risk fourth also, Of the demand IN
Great Britain being supplied in the way That the
consumption in the United Kingdom was not less Than
$4,000 900 pounds Of this quantity duty was only Pasd
on t,oenitoo millions of pounds. Upon the difference,
(amouniing thirty millons) the smugger and those
associated with him. receive the whole duty amounting
to than sOOOOOo sterling per The s %I
the tobacco then e sf profit Of two shnes and still
undersell the fair trader by shilling pounda suf
fcent inducement both to the smugger and buyer to
hp Trad n q n
Cling single example would be sufficient: II appeared
from The evidence OF the revenue officers OF the 20
yernment, given before committee Of the House OF
Commons that a0ng half only OF the Irish coast,
1000 900 pounds Of tobacco struggled in year.
making it amos, certain, that the remainder OF the
coast, and in unknown TO the revenue officers from
Is 600 to 100000 pounds, three times The guam
tty upon ,chiek the duty paid were struggled IN one
year. That the guard, which established at
Of $3.50 900 per annun TO put down smuggling, had
wholly failed in doing SOL and, Notwithstanding the in.
creasing wealth, commerce. and population OF the
United Kingdom, it clearly ascertaned that The
quantity Of tobacco upon which the duty was paid for
ten gears subsequent to the establishment Of The guard
lees by upwards OF sixteen millions Of pounds weight,
than Tor the ten preceding years. Hence il was that The
commissioners Of the revenue; in their recent report TO
the Government, declared "that the suppression Of
smuggling tobacco cannot be effectually provided
against except By remooing the cause o: e ezeessire
rate Of duty &c. ioo in lS303l the present President
of the Board Of Trade declared in Parliament "that.
from all the evidence before The House the subject Of
smuggling, that OF tobacco carried 10 the creates,
possible extent; and the only remedy Of meeting the
system was By fairly reducing the duy; and his opinion
was that were it reduced 10 shilling shilling
and sxpence per pound, the public interests would be
served, and smuggling eftctually put down" II was
with this view we'll for the purpose Of increasing
the revenue, that Lord Althop he then Chance or Of
the Excheque) proposed to reduce the duty TO shl
ling and sixpence.
That distinguished statesman, doubtless acted upon
the principle, that, by reducing the duty of three sl
hngs to.one shilling sxpence-say one shing-,he
price to the customer would be reduced bring both
article and price within the reach Of and hume
class Of subjects, who could not the present high
price, afford 10 SMOKE chew, snuff tobacco Of even
tolernby good quality; that by this MEANS the consump
ton would increase in the same greater proper
ton with the reduction Of the duty consequently in
crease the revenue, put down the Illicit trade and de-
liver the manufacturer from the mercy Of the smugger
This movement on The part Of Lord Althorp was re.
garded at the time as not only stamping the duty obac
co with his avowed disaPprobaton, butps solemn
citation 10y The then Government Of the whole system Of
high duties. That the result would have been such us
was anticipated if the duty tobacco had been reduced
was maintained, clearly shown by The present duty
tea and coffee In proof of this and illustration
OF how increased population and consumption, accom-
panied by diminished duties, would augment, instead
ofdminsh revenue referred 10 the operation of the
duty on tea and coffee, compared with tobacco In 1890
when the duty was at the rate of SO per cent at or
der two shliings pound, and 100 per above the
quantity OF tea consumed t,oentytco millions four
hundred and ty.t,eo thousand pounds. In 1885, when
per pound for bohea two shings and iwopence for
congou, and three shillngs for souchong end owery
pekoe, the quantity thirty sir millions foe hundred
aud segcniyj0ur thousand pounds That on coffee in
ls29 when the amount Of duty was one shilling per
pound, the quantity millions Of pounds. In
1888, when II was reduced sixpence il mounted up
to near t0snty four millions Of pounds So, too with
cigars-the amount upon which duty was paid in 1925
ateigheen snillings per pound only eight thousand
siI hundred. 10 1886, when the duty was reduced to
nine sh'.lings (one.half the formerly the
one hundred ana forty thousand pounds Thus the
revenue derived from duty of nine shilngs was more
than nac times greater than when il was double that
amount. On such exnmplesit would not be necessary
to make comments, with view 10 further perspcuity
Indeed more signal instances Of The truth the PROPOSE
tion that top da.es increased consumption as ,esu as
1e1en1e, were probably not to be found in the whole
history Of taxation.
The result, then, wns simply this that if the duty
was so reduced as effectualy 10 put down smuggling.
ali The tobacco actually in and consumed in the
United Kingdom would pay duty, and the establishment
OF coast guard service would be rendered unnecessary
so much as regarded The effects Of this system upon the
revenue.
That as to the manufacturer and fair dealer, the ope.
ration OF this high duty equally injurious aud fatal
From The evidence and Official statements of The tobacco
trade appeared that the whole quantity on which duty
was paid IN England would employ but little more than
one third OF The machinery that wanted for manuiac.
turing one article alone and that the number Of dealers
towns, must by the sale Of only half pound per WEEK
supply consumption which made It certain without
reckoning any other saie that million Of pounds Of
foreign cigars was supplied by the smugger which was
confirmed by the fact stated by Mr.. McCulloch, that
more than 10 43 215 pounds sir hundred and sscen
thousand seotn hsadTed and thirty arrobas IF cigars
ere exported annually from the Havana only lII 600 Of
which pay the English duty. The result was tha, the
British manufacturer could no, by possibility maintain
both his trade and capital while he was constrained to
pay 80 high duty and which, if continued must force
out OF The trade all bu, those who look for profits out of
the revenue That, whilst the U S exported four mil
lions f manufactured todaeco, the United Kingdom with
all Their advantages of capital and skl exported only
p1s hundred thousand pounds Of manufactured tobacco
ano about twelve thousand Of snuff though at the same
time, 3OOO0O pounds OF foreign manufactured tobacco
were exported from the Kings warehouse " lille,
therefore, the BRUSH manufacturer able 10 euploy
large capital and manufacture tobacco and snuff in
manner equal TO other competitors he The only ma