Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-07-03

England derives an annual revenue from dulles ou
tobacco, Of ci,jUO, ,Unu or ,&D,rUO and France
99,OoOo oOo francs or $I?,OnUoOo totu $ll .,Uo nao
being more than half the dulles levied 10y the niicd
States upon the whole importation from both coun'
tr'es' From recent official rrpurts 10 the Safe Do"
parliheilt' we learn that up 10 1917 purchases q" TO
! oacco ny france were made upon the offers -! ner
chants submitted to the Director General. and com
munlcated by him to the Cnuuci Of Administration
Ahe number OF competitors crested cmbaTGsSmeh'
anu Tie present system was yea', ADOPT
eu' ms system Is this: Proposals are published ny
the'tS'e to make contracts Tor tho supply ct certain
qualities and certain quantities Of specified kinds "l
Tobacco Samples Of the kinds nnd qua!t.s are sub
hited 10 the inspection OF those WHO desire 10 con
tract, and they thereupon submit their offers I" sup
ply u; certain prices within u time specified. iho
samples submitted to the contractors carefully
preserved and when the car.o.s arrive AT the va
rious ports samples Of them are forwarded to Phr's
and compared with The model sample- aud the ar-
ceptance or refusal depends upon this comparison.
ltrequres but little reflection IL perceive tia; tins
system Is seriously injurious 10 our trade. !: 's 4
moderate estimate TO make, suppose that II tobacco
were admitted into Franc. ls other products are nd
m''ted We shoui export ten times mu,'l "s We d"
at the present time. The abolition oi the system
would, therefore, seem Ia be an object constantly /"
DO kept IN view 10y our government. !! i'a7 stoou
So many years, however, and under s" Hia'y i"'''S"
government, aud is productive 10 The revenneF'
and so important 10 Tie government "i France
itself, in the number Of lersous thus brought under
lis direct influence, that cannot hope 10 see ii soon
materially changed.
In France tobacco is only permitted /" be cultivated
ii SIX departments staple, and this cultivation is
Ender the mostrisd S"rrc.!m" nfthe government. In
The other departments agrculturslsts allowed to
On the tobacco disposed of by the r,g". whether
imported or produced the profit realized amounts 10
4iI per cent. The retail dealers in the article, mum
bering about iOO0O are under the control of the
gte inspection and are allowed commission on their
sales Of from 10 10 II per cent There only Ten
manufactures. They are located at Paris, llavre ,
Lille, Strasbourg, Morlaix, Tanncins, Lyons, Mar
selles, Toulouse and Bordeaux Each has lis circle
OF departments 10 supply, aud il restricted 10 trans
actions therein. The manufactured article Is deposit.
ed in magazines, of which there ars 80. In Tie de-
partmens adjoining Switzerland, Germany and BeI.
gium the price established is vastly below ths; which
rules in the interior. The object fs i. to prevent
Where frontier facilities are afforded for
Illicit importatlons, the rate is comparatively mode
rate Where none exist, it is cnormous. Thus, a. !.
pound is worth only Il sous c"u's,l
while at Orleans il is worth eight francs iSl.0G.)-
IN 1918 the receipts from the customs only
TO about l;G,GnO,OO0 francs sGO0l 6O0 of
which were derived from tobacco nearly all grown
n the United States under the workings "f the y,..
We're this rSgf abolished aud n moderate import du-
y substituted, Instead of mark. o IL uNO or is nDu
ihds of tobacc" per annum, France would take from
Ia double that quantity Immediately thereafter
At the present time export about two liiris ol
III the tobacco consumed in Europe Street attention
. its proper culture will enable us TO furnish much
'reater proprotion. From IS27 to 1876, our exports
o France, amounted annually, On an ev.rasa 10
,'e',9OO pounds. For many years We have exported
rom threefourths to lour.fths of tn. tobacco con.
umed in France. From official reports of the French
we gather tue following statistics of our