The Sun. — 1832-01-12 (London, England)

BREWERS' MONOPOLY.  GRIEVANCES OF LICENSED VICTUALLERS.  The Lord Mayor was waited upon at the Mansion-house by a licensed victualler, who had been once in exten►ive business, but now felt the severity of the times. His oh • ject was, through the Lord Mayor, who had distinguished himself eminently by advocating the cause of the oppressed, to bring distinctly to the view of those who framed the laws a number of facts, calculated to chew that those individuals who kept public-houses were treated with undue severity. The substance of the communication made by the applicant to his Lordship was to the following effet : Public•house property had of late become very much depreciated. It had been raised to a price far beyond its real value by the competition of the brewers, who, to secure trade, advanced sums to those who took their houses, the interest of which sums was quite sufficient to paralyse the utmost exertions of the borrowers. A man with a fair character, possessing one hundred pounos, could, a few years ago, have procured the tenancy of a house valued at four thousand ponnds ; but now that the depreciation existed to the extent of fifty per cent., the brewer pushed for his money, and the publican, unable to pay, became careless, dropped into the Gazette or the Bench, or appeared in the obituary as a suicide. The publican paid sixteen guineas a year for his licence at the same time that his house was partly converted into barrack for the support and comfort of soldiers; and lie was not only obliged to pay the draymen for laying down the beer at the rate of one shilling per butt, but was also called upon to pay for the finings by which the brewer's commodity was made fit for consumption. If the publican hesitated to discharge the drayman's demand, and fill his belly, and perform other orders, the warrant of attorney, with which the brewer always took care to be armed, was ready in the hands of the brewer's solicitor,who was anxious to pounce upon the insolvent as a sure perquisite to himself. A teat had been compounded or invented by Professor Faraday, professing to discover adulteration in beer, and it was generally admitted, that amongst the publicans there had been many unprincipled men who had carried adulteration to a very frightful extent; but, in the majority of cases, the publicans had been convicted for offences committed by the brewers, as, up to last October twelvemonths, the finings would not stand the test, but the brewers escaped according to the old maxim.  It was well known that a publican, in drawing large quantities of porter, was liable to cause waste beer, which flowed into a waste butt in the cellar. Formerly the brewer used to take back the waste at full price ; but now, if the publican be under any pecuni'ry obligation to the brewer, not more than two-thirds are al►owed of the full price ; and if the returned porter will not stand the test, nothing is allowed. The wealthy publican could easily have other conditions, or would change his brewer. The monopoly of some of the porter brewers had been greatly aggravated ; for since the passing of the new beer not a few of them had compelled the needy publicans, who dragged their trade, to sell ale as well as porter, on pain of ejectment. The LORD MAYOR said the grievance was, like many ethers which were stated to him, without hie being able to apply a remedy, a very heavy one. He was aware that publicans laboured under very serious disabilities, and that the profits of the trade were generally much exaggerated: but he certainly had no idea that they were subject to such vexatious expenses. The applicant observed, that the city was the only place in which a Magistrate could be found to li,ten to his complaint. With all the respect in the world foe the bench of county Magistrates, although he ►ived in the county, he would as soon think of asking one of them to lend him 500/., as to hear one word from him against the dignity and honour of the porter brewers of London.  A mercantile bankruptcy took place in Glasgow twenty years ago, the affairs of which were only finally wound up last week, when certain of the creditors, none of whom had ever received one farthing of dividend, were obliged to pay above nine shillings in the pound on adwe csioeintz awmai sgeovweirnagl otfo t hnen m l‘olnagi meson t esTtehde rt fi ous rst original creditors having themselves became insolvent during the prctracted period of the trust, the loss of course became heavier on the remaiuder.—Edinburgh Advertiser.,