"In the beginning of the revolutionary war the duties on malt were augmented, and in 1825 the duties on spirits were decreased. It was thus that whisky was substituted for ale as the beverage of the Scotch, and that gin and brandy began to be generally drunk by the English poor.
"The consumption of spirits immediately increased in a tremendous proportion. From 4,132,263 gallons, the consumption in 1825, it rose in one year to 8,888,648 gallons; that is, the consumption was in one year more than doubled by the change; and from that period, with the exception of the year next following, viz. 1827, the consumption has been progressively augmenting.
"Since that time the noted beer-shop act has been passed. By that act, any one was enabled to obtain a license to enable him to sell beer, whether the person desirous of doing so was a person of respectable character or not.
"But this was the least of the evils which were effected by that act. A clause, which was still more injurious, was that which prescribed that the liquor must be drunk upon the premises of the beer-house, i. e. either in the beer-house or on a bench just outside the door.
"This has the effect in many cases, where the poor would otherwise take the beer home to their own cottages, of forcing the young men who wish to have a little to drink, to sit down and take it in the society of the worst people of the neighbourhood, who always, as a matter of course, spend their leisure in the tavern. I am convinced that nothing can be more injurious in its effects upon the poor than this clause. It may be said to force the honest labourers into the society and companionship of the most depraved, and so necessarily to demoralize the young and honest labourer.
"The following is the number of gallons of native proof spirits on which duty was paid for home consumption in the United Kingdom, in the undermentioned years:—
| Years | Gallons. |
|---|---|
| 1843 | 18,841,890 |
| 1844 | 20,608,525 |
| 1845 | 23,122,588 |
| 1846 | 24,106,697 |
"To the above must be added the number of gallons of foreign and colonial spirits retained for home consumption, as follows:—
| Years | No. of Gallons of Foreign, &c. Spirits. | No. of Gallons of Home and Foreign Spirits consumed in the United Kingdom. |
|---|---|---|
| 1843 | 3,161,957 | 22,026,289 |
| 1844 | 3,242,606 | 22,042,905 |
| 1845 | 3,549,889 | 26,672,477 |
| 1846 | 4,252,237 | 28,360,934 |