422 On the Public Brewery.[May

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to promiſe. Tt is continually on the decreáſe. In thè yeâr 17745 duty was levied‘on 3,123,070 quarters vf malt OPS he amount of the beer duty informs us, that 1,312,561 quarters vere conſumed in the public brewery. Conſeguently 1,810,509 quarters were cónſumed in the private bréwéry‘and diſtillery. In 1794, duty was levied 2,863,290 quarters, public brewery conſuzied 1,666,000.; conſequently private brewery and diſtil- lery, 1,197,200 quarters. Therefore, even if‘the diſtillery were ſtationary, the private brewery was diminiſhed as(7) 119 to 1815 about 2 to 2, át the end of that period of twenty years." On the contrary, the public brewery increaféd as 166 to-131; about as 4 to 3 in che fame period. This décréaſe df the private brewery certainly indicates that ſome cauſe counteras the exemption front duty, and that béer from the public brewery comes nearly as chéap to the conſumer. We have ſuppoſed the duty on beer to áVerage at 245 per quarter of malt; the éxpences of the private brewery on 1,000,000 quarters to amount to 863,000l, equal to 17s 3d her quárter. Thèreforé, ¡if it be granted that individuals âre good judges of their profit and lof, cléarly our eſtimate is too low; for if che expéuces were not higher, the private brewery cóuld not zo ſó' fat tó decay. Thus the béer duty which is im- poſed on thé poor, does not redóund to the advantage of the rich; ánd(1) 1,200,000 is loft’to the nation, without profit to a ſingle MAU:

XLVI. Some, no doubt, under any arrangement, wou!d, from habit or caprice, Wl continue tó brew ar Boine: but the whim would ſoon bé extin&, when it became notorious, that beèr might be bought cheaper and better. To thoſe who continued the pra@ice, malt would coſt 1s Iod per buſhel dearer than before; and their beer, conſequently, as 7s I0â tó(o) 65; about a quar- tér part higher than at preſent. A much Tighter táx than is at

reſent excluſively laid on the conſumer of ready made béer.

Y ELVITI. Thé late rife in the price of porter máde under the preſſure of the increaſing price of malt, is fo enormous, that the public are in little danger of ſuffering by its long continuance. At 24d per gallon it amounts to, 55 4d per barrel. Even if before this advance, it were poſſible tO ſuppoſe that the pórtér brewer gained nothing by his trade, the preſent profit myſt be(ÿ) too

(m) Some part of this diminution is tó He attributed‘to‘the increaſe of the duties on malt. Within this period 35d per buſhel was impoſed.

a) If the arguments are allowed to have proved that‘the real expence of the private brewery muſt be egual to the duty on the public brewery, we muſt reckon at 24s per quarter”, equal to 1,200,000I.

(o) Suppoſing 6s the uſual price of malt tothe private conſumer for ſome rears z the other ingredients, remaining at the old price, would leſſen this diffcience, perhaps to a fifth.

(pd) I conteſs that this is rather a hazardous affertion; hince the brewers,

who may be ſuppoſed well acquainted with their own concerns» have e culate

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