Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1859-12-16
The Tobacco Question.
INTERESTING STATISTICS OF THE USE AND ABUSE o
THE WEED.


THE WEED.
The Carlisle England Examiner reports at great
length lecture which the Dean of Carlisle deliv-
cred, the subject being Tobacco--its influences
physical moral and religious. The large hall OF
the Athenaum was crowded.
The Deatl In the course of his lecture, furnished
the following curious statistics:-In 1856, thirty
three millions of pounds of tobacco were consumed
here at an expense of eight millions Of money; five
million two hundred and twenty thousand pounds
of which went in duty TO government, to say moth
ing of vast quantities Struggled into the country
There is steady increase upon this consumption
far exceeding the contempomneous increase of pop
ulation. In 1921 the average was 10 OF. pei
head per annum; in 1851 it had risen to 1886, and
in 1853 to 10 o.. or at least at the rate of one
fourth increase in ten years. We hear of 10000
hogshcads of tobacco in the bonding houses in Lon
don at one time. There are twelve city brokers in
London expressly devoted to tobacco sales 90 man.
uincturers 1869 tobacco shops in London, 90 pipe
makers, 1880 workmen engaged in the different
branches of the business, and less than 252 GAS
tobacco shops in the United Kingdom. And if we
turn to the Continent the consumption and eXpcn-
ditLre assume proportions perfectly gigantic. In
France much more is consumed in proportion 70
the population than in England. The Emperor
clears 100000 of francs annually by the govern
ment monopoly. AT st. Omer 1900 tons of clay
are used in making 45, O0O,0 900 of tobacco pipes
In the city of Hamburg 40 600 segars consumed
daily, although the population is not much over
100000; 10000 persons, many of them women and
children, are engaged in their manufacture. $780,
0O00 900 of segars are supplied annually; printing
press is entirely occupied in printing labels for the
boxes of segars &C.; and the business represents
CA, 100000. In Denmark the annual consumption
reaches the enormous average Of 20 ounces per
head of the whole populationi and in Belgium even
more-to 70 ounces or pounds and 3.5ths of a
pound per head. In America the average is vastly
higher. Ii il calculated that the entire world OF
smokers, snuffers and chewers consume 2 900, 900
of tons of tobacco annually, or 4,4S0,000, 900 OF
pounds weights much in tonnage as the corn con-
sumcd by 100000 900 of Englishmen, and actually
at cost sufficient to pay for all the bread corn ca
ten in Great Britain. Five million and a half OF
acres are occupied in its growth chiefly cultivated
by slave labor the product Of which, OF two pence
per pound, would yield $1,000 900 sterling. The
time would fail to tell of the vast amount of smo-
king in Turkey and PerSia-in India all classes and
both sexes indulge in this practice; the Siamese
both chew and Smoke--in Burmah all ages practise
it-chdren of three years old and Of both sexes
China equally contributes to the general mania
and the advocates of the habit boast that about one
fourth Of the human race are their clients or that
there certainly one hundred millions of smokers.
Are not these statistics perfectly a'tounding2 j.
not this n wantOn waste of money upon an idle
custom, admitted by its warmest advocates to be
only luxury seldom beneficial always dangerous?
This financial view of the question ought to arrest
our attention. Every working man who consumes
only one ounce of ''shag, returns or "birds eye
per week. or the very moderate quantity of four
pounds per nnnum, pays out Of the fruit of his la
hOrs 2s, sd. to the government in the shape of Il
tax ON his luxury. Let the working man look TO
this. The amount of money which they annual,
cxpcnd in beer spirits and tobacco, would place
them all in easy and comfortable circumstances and
in n very few years obtain for them the franchise
us electors much more quickly than friend Bright
will get il for them. daughter and applause. -
My friends, believe me that if You would break
vour tobacco pipes, and never again drink drop OF
intoxicating drinks, you would rise in the world
with rapidity you little dream of, !, for one
would chesrfully vote for manhood Suffrage if all
men were sober and well informed. Applause
The learned doctor dweh at great length ON the
moral and physical evils Of tobacco and after strong
ly appealing to his hearers, and especially TO the
ladies to aid in lis suppression, he concluded by eX-
pressing his belief that unless something stayed the
tobacco plague in America, that nation never could
he great. IL WAS stnntng their growth, and they
felt it. lie was mppy To say that tlree-tourths of
the ministers Of religion in America were abstain
crs from tobacco in every shape, aud used their in
fucnce against il.