Per cwt. Per cwt. Per cwt. s. d. s. d. s. d.
Crown-glass . 16 1} 36 9 73 6 I Plate-glass .. 21 5 49 0 60 0Flint-glass... 21 5 49 0 56 0 Broad-glass.. 8 0 12 3 30 0 Bottle-glass.. 4 Of 4 1 7 0 In 1813 the rates of 1806 were doubled, and with the exception of a modification in 1819 in favour of plate-glass, then re duced to 3/. per cwt., were continued at that high rate until 1825. In that year a change was made in the mode of taking the duty on flint-glass, by charging it on the weight of the fluxed materials in stead of on the articles when made, a regulation which did not affect the rate of charge. In 1830 the rate on bottles was reduced from 8s. 2d. to 7s. per cwt. In 1835, in consequence of the recom mendation contained in the thirteenth Report of the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry, the rate upon flint-glass was re duced from 6d. to 2d. per pound, a mea sure which was rendered necessary by the encouragement given under the high duty to the illicit manufacture, which was carried on to such an extent as to oblige several regular manufacturers to relinquish the prosecution of their busi ness. The duties varied from 200 to 300 per cent. on the value of most articles of glassware, and the cost of collecting the duty on flint-glass amounted to 57 per cent.
The number of establishments for the manufacture of glass in the United King dom, in 1833, was 126, of which 106 were in England, 10 in Scotland, and 10 in Ireland. In 1841 the number of per sons employed in the glass manufacture in Great Britain was 7464.
In 1845 the duty was wholly repealed, a proposal to this effect having been brought forward by Sir Robert Peel in introducing the budget, February 14th. The total abolition of this duty redounds greatly to the credit of the minister. There was no duty which required such a system of perpetual and vexatious in terference on the part of the Excise. While the exports of earthenware have been constantly increasing, those of glass have fallen off, for our manufacturers, while subject to be interfered with in their operations, were unable to compete with the manufacturers of Belgium, France, and more particularly those of Bohemia, where the glass manufacture has attained the highest perfection. Fo reign glass found its way into our bonded warehouses, and was exported to our own colonies, while the exports of English glass to these colonies were gradually fall ing off. On proposing the entire aboli
tion of the duty on glass, Sir Robert Peel remarked that it was difficult to foresee to what perfection this beautiful fabric might not be brought when the manu facturers were allowed to exercise their skill without restraint, and it was also impossible to say to what new purposes glass might not be applied in this coun try. He stated that in France, where the ingenuity of the manufacturer was unfet tered, glass pipes for the conveyance of water were beginning to be used, and that they cost 30 per cent. less than iron pipes, and could bear a greater external pressure. Balance-springs for chronometers could be made of glass, and were much su perior to any others ; but the manufacture was so expensive, and required so much skill, that he doubted whether under the existing system of restriction this valu able improvement could be generally adopted. At the Cambridge meeting of the British Association for the Advance ment of Science, in June, 1845, Sir John Herschell adverted to the important im provements which might be anticipated in the manufacture of scientific instru ments in which glass forms a part, now that the skill and ingenuity of the manu facturer may be freely developed.
In 1793, when taxation was compara tively low, the quantity of all kinds of glass made and retained for use in the Kingdom was 407,203 cwt., and the amount of revenue obtained from it 177,408/. The average rate of duty was therefore 8s. 84d. per cwt. upon the whole quantity. In 1834 the rate of duty was by progressive additions fourfold what it was in 1793, the average being 35s. 7td. per cwt. upon the aggregate quantity used ; and although the population had in the meantime increased more than 60 per cent., the quantity of glass which was taken for use was only 374,351 cwt., or one-twelfth less than was so taken in 1793. If the quantity used in proportion to the population had continued the same, that quantity would in 1834 have amounted to 663,740 cwt., and a revenue equal to what was realized would have resulted from an average rate of 20s., instead of 35s. 71d.