And this may be the fitting place to acknowledge the courtesy and kindness of the principal (Mr. A. C. Wood) of the Statistical Office of H.M. Customs, who has furnished the tabular statement, which appears below, shewing the latest facts and figures on importations of tobacco, on the rate of consumption per head of population in the United Kingdom, and the revenue derived therefrom.
Statistical Office,
H.M. Customs.
Since the date of your article there have been some considerable changes in the fiscal position of Tobacco and the following are the chief changes in rates of duty per lb. since 1898:—
| Unmanufactured Tobacco. | Cigars. | Foreign Cavendish. | Other Sorts. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | D | S | D | S | D | S | D | |||||
| 1898 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 5 | ||||
| 1900 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | ||||
| 1904 { | 3 | 3 | } | Strips | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | { | 4 | 10 | Cigarettes. |
| 3 | 1½ | 3 | 10 | Other Sorts. | ||||||||
| 3 | 0 | Whole Leaf. | ||||||||||
The maximum limit of moisture allowed in manufacture of Tobacco was fixed in 1887 at 35 per cent., and was changed in 1898 to 30 per cent., and again raised in 1904 to 32 per cent.
The moisture naturally present in the kinds of Tobacco now imported averages about 14 per cent. I mention these facts because they are as you know of considerable importance in making calculations of the quantities sold over the counters of retailers to consumers.
Perhaps I may add that in 1904 differential rates were levied on Stripped or Stemmed Tobacco, that is upon Leaf from which the ‘midrib’ had been removed. The duty on ‘strips’ imported before the Budget was fixed at 3s. 1½d. the lb., and at 3s. 3d. on Strips brought here afterwards, while the duty on whole leaf Tobacco was settled at 3s. 0d. the lb.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,