The increasing importance of obtaining a supply of rags for paper making, and the restrictions placed by foreign governments on the sale of such rags to England, have lately recalled attention to projects long ago entertained. It is said that no leas than 45,000 tons of linen rags, all collected by the elullmiers, or itinerant ragmen, were used in France tin 1852 in paper-making; and the paperananufeeturers of that country strenuously oppose any plan which might lead to an increased sale to England. Nearly sU vegetable fibrous substances, as was observed in a .former -paragraph, can be converted into paper ; but the problem is, whether such paper would be fine enough, strong enough, and cheap enough to compete with ragamper. The so called Chinese rice-paper congas. of thin films cut spirally from the branches of a particular tree, the 0..prAyneseene paludoaa. There is In the British Museum a curious' book, prepared by Jacob Christian Schaffer, a native of _Bad/shoe, about the year 1775. It describes the manufacture of paper from different substances, and the sixty leave& of which the took is eoensesned are made of sixty different kinds of paper. The .bark of the willow, beech, aspen, hawthorn, linden, and mulberry ; the down of the catkins of the black poplar, and the silky down of the whip:as; the tendrils of the vine, the stalks of nettle, ningwort, and tlyers-weed ; ear:oue kinds of leaf, fibre, and stalk ; as well as straw, reeds, moss. lichens, wood shavings, sawdust, penance, and fir.cones 'all were employed. The paper is in all the epeciluens of very inferior -quelity, both In colour and texture; but unquestionably the same materials would yield better results, if treated with modern skill and .Z41/anents.. sln.18$4- the proprietors -of one of our great newspapers offered a prize of 1000/. to the discoverer or inventor of any new kind of paper which, at a certain wholesale price, should possess a certain list of good qualities ; but the desired standard has, wo believe, never yet been reached. In the same year, the Treasury drew the attention of the Board of Trade to the scarcity in the materials for paper; and suggested that, iu conjunction with the Foreign Office, the Ward might possibly be able to obtain from British consuls abroad, useful information concerning vegetable fibre which would be available for this manufacture. It was mentioned that 2d. or per pound might perhaps be the price which paper manufacturers would be willing to give for such materials. r. Lyon Mayfair, on the part of the Board of Trade, stated that, after conferring with inlay eminent manufacturers, he had arrived at a conclusion that any new material must be obtainable at Id. or lid. per pound, in order fairly to meet all the requirements. Much valuable information has since been obtained from British consuls abroad, and especially from Dr. Forbes Moyle and Dr. Hooker, concerning fibrous plants in various parte of the world ; and there is reason to hope that these researches will ultimately lead to beneficial results. In 1859 an attempt was made to establish a manufacture of paper from flax-straw and flax refuse, by means of a joint stock company, on the basis of a patent obtained by Mr. Houghton. Whether or not the process is a good one, the company itself has, we believe, not yet actually been formed.
Paper trade and duty.—Until 1837 the duty on paper was charged in two classes. That made whole out of old tarred rope, without extracting the pitch or tar, was considered as second-class paper, and paid only a d iity of I id. per lb. ; while paper made of any other materials
was considered as first-class paper, and was charged with a duty of 3d. per lb. In the year above mentioned this distinction was abolished, and the duty on all kinds of paper was fixed at 14d. per lb., which gave an immediate impulse to the trade. The effect of this change in augmenting the quantity used was soon shown. In round numbers, the quantity made in 1835 and 1836 averaged 78 million lbs. a year, whereas in 1837 and 1838 it averaged 91 million lbs. Foreign paper had not hitherto competed largely with home-made. because a Customs' duty had interfered with it. In 1857 and the two following years, the quantity of paper made in the United Kingdom was about 198, 193, end 218 million lbs. respectively ; of which about one-twelith was exported, and eleven-twelfths used at home. The average quantity made at each mill may bo inferred from the following table, applicable to the year 1859 :— Kent is the head-quarters of the manufacture ; after which Hertford shire and the neighbouring counties, Lancashire, and Devonshire. In Scotland, Lanark, Midlothian, and Aberdeen are the chief paper-making counties.
Few public subjects have been more discussed within the last few years than the propriety of removing the excise duty on paper. This duty, of 14d. per lb. plus 5 per cent., after a few drawbacks for exportation, &c., yielded about a million and a quarter sterling of net revenue annually to the state; and Chancellors of the Exchequer, however favourable to the diffusion of cheap literature, have been unwilling to part with tide easily collected tax. In 1853, the Society of Arts drew up a list of queries, and sent them to paper-manufacturers, wholesale stationers, manufacturers of paper articles, publishers, news paper proprietors, and authors, soliciting opinions as to the modes in which the paper duty affected various branches of the public. Some of these queries were—Does the mode in which the duty is collected interfere injuriously with the process of manufacture, and in what way I Does it affect the quality and variety of the article manufactured Does it limit materially the quantity of the supply ? Do the excise regulations interfere with the rapid execution of orders ? Does the mode of collection prevent the use of new materials ? Does it place the manufacturer at a disadvantage in the market? Much valuable information was obtained in response to these queries. During the subsequent period of seven years (1854 to 1860 inclusive) great activity had been shown in the advocacy of the abolition of the duty, by various bodies, and through the medium of various publications. It is not now necessary to adduce the arguments used; for the tax is on nearly all sides admitted to be a bail one. In the session of 1860, Mr. Gladstone, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, moved the abolition of the duty, in connection with a very extensive financial achemo, including a commercial treaty with France, and a removal of Customs' duties from many minor articles. The bill for the abolition of the paper duty was passed by the House of Commons, but rejected by the House of Lords. The Customs' duty on foreign paper of 24d per lb., with 5 per cent. additional, has, however, been reduced to I 4d. per lb. with 5 per cent. additional, the same rate as the excise duty on the home manufacture, so that the importation is unimpeded.