The Excise, Montreal, is officered by sixty-two men—forty-six of whom are permanently appointed, the rest, sixteen, are temporary employees.
There are licensed, in Montreal: One distillery, four malthouses, sixteen breweries, forty-one cigar factories, one acetic acid factory, five perfumes, six pharmaceutical preparations, fourteen bonded warehouses, twenty-one chemical stills and one wood alcohol manufacturer.
The Weights and Measures Inspection are responsible for the verification of all weights and measures used in trade.
Gas Inspection has charge of the inspection of all meters used by consumers of gas and the illuminating power and purity of gas.
Food Inspection deals with the purity of alimentary substances.
As a collecting office, the Inland Revenue, Montreal, is second only to the Customs, and collects nearly one-half of all the excise revenue of Canada.
The officers named by the British Government and who remained in office at Confederation were R. Bellemare, Inspector; P. Durnford, Collector, assisted by a staff of fourteen officers.
The first excise office was situated on St. James Street, on part of the site now occupied by “La Presse Building”; in 1871, it was moved to the present location, at No. 412 St. Paul Street, (the site of the first public square in Montreal).
The steady increase in collections of the Inland Revenue duties is one of the best indications of the growth of Montreal.