Tobacco, owing to the high rate of duty when in any manufactured form, is mostly imported in the leaf; but small quantities are brought in, chiefly for re-export, in various states of manufacture. The chief of these is balled cavendish, which is made by strip ping the blades of the leaves from the midribs, and, after sprinkling them with an infu sion of tobacco made from the stalks and other waste parts, laying them in heaps to heat or ferment. This darkens their color; and while still moist and flaccid, they are laid smoothly upon each other, so as to form cakes about 9 in. in length by 3 in breadth, which are pressed by powerful machinery until they are very compact and hard. Another kind is called negrohead, which is formed into sticks about an inch thick, and 8 or 9 in length, which are ]aid across each other equally, and are then pressed into cakes. When the sticks are pulled apart, the rounded depressions caused by pressing them into one another gives them a slight resemblance to the wavy locks of a negro's hair, whence they receive their name. The leaf simply twisted into a rope, as in the kind called varinas roll and other similar sorts, as well as that which is merely cut small for smoking, is all held to be " manufactured," and charged with the highest duty, so that very little indeed is imported.
Cigars and cheroots are also forms of manufactured tobacco; but so much in favor are these with smokers, that the exorbitant duty is very little check upon their importa tion. The island of Cuba supplies not only the best but also the largest quantity; the Havana tobacco being exceedingly well cultivated and cared for, and being especially well adapted for cigar-making. More than half of all the cigars imported into Great Britain are from Cuba; and the cheroots are chiefly from Manilla. The Philippine islands also send us about 100,000 lbs. per annum of cigars, and other countries aboit 200,000 lbs. The total amount sent to Great Britain annually is a little over 600,000 lbs., equal in value to about £350,000. Cigars and cheroots arc essentially the same; they only differ in form.
The tobacco received in the leaf is all more or less manufactured in this country. It is either cut finely, so as to be convenient for use in pipes, or made into cavendish, negro head, or twist; the last is often called and is a continuous string of tobacco about the thickness of a quill, many yards in length, made by twisting and spinning the leaves when flaccid from being wetted and heated as before described; this string is then made up into balls, and is the kind chiefly used by those who chew tobacco.
Snuff is another form of manufactured tobacco largely made in Great Britain. It is formed by grinding the leaf either with or without the leaf-stalks and midribs. The grinding is generally effected iu wooden mortars, with pestles also of wood; and some kinds of snuff are prepared from kiln-dried tobacco, while others are made from the soft leaves. The varieties arc numerous, and fortunes have been made by manufacturers
who have been fortunate enough to make a snuff which has become a favorite.
Tobacco is subject to a higher rate of duty, in proportion to its intrinsic value, than any other article. The value of the best sorts in the leaf only ranges from 3d. to 9d. per pound; while the duty is as follows: Unmanufactured, containing 10 per cent or more of natural moisture, 3s. 6d. per pound; and if containing less than 10 per cent of moisture, 3s. 10d. per pound. The various kinds of manufactured tobacco range from 4s. 4d. to 5s. 4d. per pound. Iu consequence of this disproportion between the value of the material and the duty paid upon it, its importation is fettered with numerous condi tions, which should be well understood by those who import either for trade or for pri vate use. The chief regulations are as follow: It is prohibited to be imported at any other ports in the United Kingdom than Aberdeen, Belfast, Cork, Cowes, Drogheda, Dublin, Falmouth, Fleetwood, Galway, Glasgow, Greenock, Hartlepool, Hull, Lancas ter, Leith, Limerick, Liverpool, London, Londonderry, Newcastle, Newry, Plymouth, Port Glasgow, Portsmouth, Preston, Sligo, Southampton, Swansea, Waterford, Wex ford, and, Whitehaven; or in original packages of less than 80 pounds weight. This does not apply to the small quantities which passengers may wish to bring with .them in their baggage; in which case, they may pay–duty on any quantity of manufactured tobacco or cigars under 3 pounds, if from the continent (except in the case of frequent visitors), and any quantity not exceeding 7 pounds if from the East and West Indies, and other distant voyages; and of unmanufactured tobacco, passengers may pay duty, and import as surplus stores any quantity not exceeding 9 pounds. Of cigars uncon • sumcd on the passage, the passenger is only allowed 8 ounces free of duty. The penal ties for any invasion of these regulations are very heavy, in addition to which the goods are always forfeited to the crown.
The quantity of manufactured tobacco, that is, cigars and snuff, which was imported into the United Kingdom in 1876 was 3,768,908 lbs., and its value £1,276,852; of unmanu factured, 76,064,627 lbs., and its value £2,669,370. The gross amount of revenue col lected by the custom-house, for tobacco and snuff, in 1876-77, after deducting repay ments and drawbacks, was £7,775,575. The revenue from this article has upon the whole kept steadily increasing for a considerable number of years. It had prior to that been greatly affected by the civil war in America. The smallest value of manufactured tobacco between 1857 and 1876 was imported in 1859; of umnanufactured, during the same period, the smallest value was imported the following year—thus plainly indicating the influence of that struggle.