TOBACCO. The tobacco duty yields a gross revenue of above 3,500,0001. a year ; only two articles of foreign pro duction, sugar and tea, bring in a larger sum. Since 1842 the duty has been 3s. per lb. The value of the article in bond varies from 24d. to 6d. From 1815 to 1825 the duty was 4s. the lb. In 1825 it was reduced to 3s. the lb. and 2s. 9d. if it was the produce of the British posses sions in America. In 1842 the duty was made 3s. also on tobacco produced in the British possessions in America. In 1786 the duty in Great Britain was only 10d. per lb. ; but in the following year it was increased to ls. 3d. ; in 1796 to Is. 7d.; and it was successively increased at differ ent times until it amounted to 4s. in 1815.
For the following years the consump tion of tobacco and the population for each decennial were:— Population. Consumption. Duty per lb. 1801 10,942,646 18,514,998 lbs. Is. 7d.
1811 12,609,964 14,923,243 2s. 2d.
1821 14,391,631 12,983,198 48, 1831 16,539,318 15,350,018 3s.
1841 18,53V86 16,000,000 38.
It appears that the consumption in 1841 was considerably less than one lb. per head: in Prussia it is three lbs. It is impossible to believe that the use .1 to bacco has declined, or even been station ary, within the last few years: there is little doubt indeed of its having increased, though the returns give a different result. In 1828 only 8600 lbs. of cigars paid duty at 18s. the lb.; in 18:31, the duty having been reduced one-half, 66,000 lbs. were entered for consumption ; and in 1841 there were entered 213,613 lbs. The following account shows the ties of unmanufactured tobacco on which duty was paid in the United Kingdom in the three years and a half ending July, 1842:—.
England, 1839, 15,686,245 lbs. ; 1840, 15,475,431 lbs.; 1841, 14,590,129 lbs. ; half-year ending 5th July, 1842, 7,189,166 lbs. Scotland, 1839, 2,082,469 lbs. ; 1840, 2,071,350 lbs. ; 1841, 2,031,982 lbs.; • half-year ending 5th July, 1842, 2,575,022 lbs. Ireland, 1839, 692,702 lbs.; 1840, 5,355,617 lbs. ; 1841, 5,473,479
lbs. • half-year ending 5th July, 1842, 2,663,522 lbs. United Kingdom, 1839, 22,971,406 lbs.; 1840, 22,902,398 lbs.; 1841, 22,095,588 lbs.; • half-year ending 5th July, 1842, 10,827,710 lbs.
The following are the quantities re tained for home consumption and the ret amount of duty received in 1843 and 1844 : 1843. 1844.
Unmanufactured tobacco 22,361,330 lbs. 23,547,934 lbs.
Manufactured, or cigars . . 248,514 256,078 Net amount of duty received £3,525,265 £3,710,641 There is both smuggling and extensive adulteration of tobacco; an act was passed (5 & 6 Victoria, c. 93) intended to remedy one of the sources of loss to the revenue, by again subjecting the manufacturers and dealers to the supervision of the ex cise. Up to 1825 both a customs and excise duty was collected on tobacco; but since that year the duty has been wholly collected by the officers of the customs at the ports of importation. A strict survey of the manufacturers' premises, and a registry of their operations and the sales of the retail dealers, were still kept up by the excise, though they no longer col lected any duty. This survey was at length abolished in 1840 by the 3 & 4 Viet c, 18; it is now partially re esta blished. The nature of the adulterations practised may be gathered from one of the clauses of the Act 5 & 6 Viet., which prohibits, under a penalty of 2001., manu facturers having in their possession " any sugar, treacle, molasses, or honey, or an commings or roots of malt, or any ground or unground roasted grain, ground or tin ground chicory, lime, sand (not being to bacco sand), umbre, ochre, or other earths, sea-weed, ground or powdered, woo?, moss, or weeds, or any leaves, or any herbs or plants (not being tobacco leaves or plants) respectively, nor any substance or material, syrup, liquid, or preparation, matter or thing, to be used it capable of being used as a substitt re for or to increase the weight of tobacco or snuff."