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arge, who are not practically familiar with the subject, only require it to be brought before them in a distinct point of view, when the important results of such a reduction cannot fail to be apparent to them. Tea is not now within the reach of the poor man. A person taking tea once a day, will consume about 71/2 lbs. a year. lbs. Say 500,000 persons take tea twice a day, or 15 lbs. a year, is 7,500,000 Say 4,000,000 persons take tea once a day, or 71/2 lbs. a year, is 30,000,000 Say 12,000,000 persons take tea once a week, or 1 lb. a year, is 12,000,000 ---------- 49,500,000 Which shows that, at present, only one person out of every sixty can have tea twice a day; one of every seven only once a day; and that out of the remaining 13,500,000 persons, only five millions and a half can procure it once in the week. The exact state of the case shows that only eight millions of the people of the United Kingdom enjoy the use of tea, leaving the other twenty-two millions excluded. A Chinese will consume thirty pounds of tea in the year. But it is said we must not, if our accumulated stocks be drank off this year, expect the Chinese to meet at once so huge an increase in the demand as to supply us with as much next year. Now on no point of the case is the evidence so clear as upon the capacity of the Chinese to furnish, within any year, any quantity we may require. The Committee of 1847, on Commercial Relations with China, state--"That the demand for tea from China has been progressively and rapidly rising for many years, with no other results than that of diminished prices:"--a fact to be accounted for only upon the supposition that our ordinary demand is exceedingly small in proportion to the Chinese supply. Nor is it an unreasonable inference, that if so much more than usual was to be had at a less price than before, any rise of price, however trivial it might be, would bring forward a much larger quantity:[8] a supposition which is completely confirmed by a review of prices here, and exports from China within the last four years; and in considering which it is important to bear in mind--1st, that our tea trade year, on which our account of import, export, home consumption, and stock on hand is taken, is from Ja
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