valorem_ one of 96 per cent. on all
teas sold under 2s. a lb., and of 100 per cent. on all that were sold
at or above 2s., charged on the prices which they brought at the East
India Company's sales. The _ad valorem_ duties ceased on the 22nd of
April, 1834, and under the act 3 and 4 William IV. c. 100, all tea
imported into the United Kingdom for home consumption was charged
with a customs as follows:--

Bohea 1s. 6d. per lb.
Congou, twankay, hyson skin, orange
pekoe, and campoi 2 2 "
Souchong, flowery pekoe, hyson, young
hyson, gunpowder, imperial, and
other teas not enumerated 3 0 "

In 1836, the uniform duty of 2s. 1d. per lb. on all descriptions of
tea was imposed, which, with the additional 5 per cent, imposed in
1840, made the total duty levied per lb. 2s. 2d. and a fraction.

During the years from 1831 to 1841, in spite of an increase of nearly
three millions in the population of the country, and notwithstanding
the impetus given to the tea-trade by the abolition of the East India
Company's monopoly in 1833, the increased consumption was only
6,675,566 lbs. Great as the increase has been of late years, however,
it is very far short of what we might expect to see were the duty
reduced to a moderate per centage on the value of the article as it
comes from the Chinese merchant. In Jersey and Guernsey, where there
is no duty on tea, the average consumption is 41/2 lbs. per head per
annum. The same rate for the United Kingdom would require an annual
importation of nearly 150 million lbs. I asserted, many months ago, if
the duty could be gradually reduced from its present exorbitant amount
to 1s. per lb., the revenue would not suffer much, whilst the comfort
of the people would be much increased, and our trade with China
greatly improved.

Years. Teas Imported, lbs. Entered for Home Consumption, lbs.
1843 42,779,265 35,685,262
1844 50,613,328 41,176,00
1845 53,570,267 44,127,000
1846 57,584,561 46,554,787
1847 55,255,000 50,921,486
1848 47,774,755 48,735,696
1849 53,460,751 50,024,688
1850 50,512,384 51,178,215
1851 71,466,421 53,965,112
1852 66,361,