THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



283 



rowing in one boat, and all would go hand and heart together 

 in the endeavoura to get the tax removed. All they wanted 

 was a fair stand up fight. At present he was quite satisfied 

 they were labouring under free-trade prices, and had at the 

 same time a heavy duty hanging over them, and they need not 

 expect to get anything during the next two years iu the shape 

 of new profit. The duty consumed them more than free trade. 

 If any of them had anything to say on the subject he hoped 

 they would do it manfully, and let the public know that they 

 were unanimous. They must give a '' long pull, a strong 

 pull, and a pull altogether, " until the tax was laid under their 

 feet. 



Mr. J. Kenward (Uckfield) rose to second the resolu- 

 tion. It might not, he said, be deemed prudent on his part 

 to do so, as he had been on the opposition side, but he now 

 found that he had been travelling on the wrong road. He made 

 it his business, however, to attend that day, and render his as- 

 sistance in endeavouring to get rid of the tax. 



Mr. J, WiBLEY (Sevenoaks) said he was a grower of high- 

 priced hops, but he heartily agreed with the two resolutions 

 that had been proposed. He W8s an old free-trader, and did 

 not fear the importation of foreign hops in the least. He 

 thought the high-priced men in Mid Kent and East Kent 

 would benefit more from free-trade than any part of Sussex or 

 the Weald of Kent ; the consumption would increase accord- 

 ing as hops were lowered in price. Why should they be 

 ruined in their prosperity year after year, merely to be pro- 

 tected £1 63. from foreign hops? it was a complete bugbear; 

 it was all very well when hops were eight guineas a cwt. 



Mr. Body begged distinctly to state that the society they 

 had formed was not established in any respect as a free-trade 

 society, upon free-trade principles. They had nothing what- 

 ever to do with free-trade. He had made those few observa- 

 tions from fear that some wrong impression might go abroad 

 upon the matter. 



Mr. Whibley said he did not think anyone would volun- 

 teer to go to Government for a repeal of the Customs' duty; 

 they did not ask for the repeal of that duty, but the question 

 was one of a free trade character. 



Mr. Thirkell said he was a large grower in the Weald of 

 Kent. He trusted they would wake out of their sleep, and 

 make vigorous exertions to obtain the repeal of so unjust a tax. 

 Tne resolution having been unanimously carried. 

 Mi. N.vsh (Rochester) said he had been called upon to 

 move — " That a society having been formed to promote the 

 repeal of the duty upon hops, this meeting pledges itself to 

 take the most active measures to support that society in 

 the attainment of its object." He stood before them as a 

 Kent planter of more than twenty years' experience ; he 

 had grown hops in the hill district as good as most 

 men grow, at least they had fetched as good a price — and 

 he must say that he did not wish to see any gentleman grub 

 his hops. He had been to Somerset-house and made 

 extracts from some of the books. He would have them 

 clearly to understand that there were altogether three 

 duties— the old dutj% the new duty, and the 5 per cent., 

 and he would tell them what had been the amount ot each for 

 every year. In 1711 the old duty of Id. in the lb. was put 

 on ; 1778 the Id. per lb. was continued, and the 5 percent, 

 was put on ; in 1780, 10 per cent, was added ; in 1783, 15 

 per cent, was added ; and in 1786, l^d. and 2-20th3 was 

 added; in 1801 it was 2^d. ; in 1806, it was reduced to 

 2d. ; in 1840, when all exciseable articles were taxed, 5 per 

 cent, was laid on ; nearly all the latter tax had been re- 

 moved, the only articles on which it remained being paper, 

 malt, and hops : he believed that was a fact. He had taken 

 the three years 18.55-6-7, and he would give them the re- 

 turns for those years, as he had taken them from the House 

 of Commons. The amount of the new duty and war tax in 

 1855 was £294,643 10s., and the additional 5 per cent, on 

 that was £34,661 10s. 4\i, making £329,305 Os. 4\A. The 

 planters had been called upon to pay that above the Id. per 

 lb. duty. Those were startling items, but correct ones. In 

 1856, the new duty amounted to £197,869 2s. 4 i^d.; and 

 the additional 5 per cent, £2.3,267 Is. S^d. ; making 

 £221,136 3s. 8d. In 1857. the new duty was £168,.')99 133. 

 105d.,and the additional 5 percent. being £19,879 158. Gjd, 

 making £188,879 93. 5d. The total of the last three years, 

 of what he would say they were called upon to pay in 

 excess of the Id. per lb. was £739,320 13s. S^d. If such a 



statement as that, of which he vouched for the truth, would 

 not make them active, he did not know what would. Allu- 

 sion had been made to the customs duty, which he did not 

 think they had any right to have •, for what had they to be 

 afraid of, when he told them that the customs duty upoij 

 hops sent into this country year before last, and charged at 

 45s. per cwt., only amounted to £22,546 .' It did not 

 amount to £10,000 of their duty, and were they willing to 

 pay £417,526 to keep that £10,000. He recommended they 

 should call a meeting in every parish, and get up subscrip- 

 tions in every possible way. He for one would pledge 

 himself to get subscribers to the amount of £50. Many 

 people he was aware agreed with Mr. Dodson, M.P., that 

 members of parliament did not know very much about the 

 subject of the hop duty; but he begged to assure them that 

 from many interviews he had bad with those gentlemen 

 they did know something of the subject and were taking a 

 lively interest in their welfare. He was happy to tell them 

 that he had received many promises from members that 

 they would vote for the repeal (renewed cheers). lie 

 hoped therefore the planters of Sussex would set a first- 

 rate example, and they might depend upon it that others 

 would follow them, for they were all beginning to feel the 

 pressure and would be glad to work alike. He had gone 

 the length and breadth of the three kingdoms; and knew 

 the general feelings of the country. If the planters would 

 help themselves, everybody else was ready to assist them. 



Mr. Barclay seconded the resolution. He observed 

 that let him go where he might, and the subject of the hop 

 duty was mentioned, people who knew nothing aliout it 

 frequently said, "What did it signify to the planters? They 

 got their prices for the hops, which included the duty, or 

 they would not grow them." That was a point to which 

 they should turn their particular attention. The growers 

 knew and felt that they paid the duty, and that in many 

 instances they never got back again any sum of money 

 which at all represented it. There were too many of them 

 held hops of 1855, and there was very little doubt that a 

 large proportion of them would never be sold, and the 

 growers would therefore not see the duty, to say nothing of 

 the expense to which they had been put. What they had 

 to do principally was to show, as nearly as they covtld, the 

 situation in which they were with regard to the duty. They 

 were called upon to pay it whether the hops were sold or 

 not, and under any circumstances ; if the hops were spoiled 

 the duty must be paid out of their pockets. But the 

 business in which they were at present engaged was as im- 

 portant a matter as any hop-grower could undertake, for 

 they ought to get rid ot the excise duty if they could by 

 any possibility ; for he was sure there were very few farmers 

 who did not feel th.at heavier than any other payment. It 

 was asked for in large sums, and at a time when they had 

 sold the article for which it was claimed. If they did not 

 care for the duty, and he believed there were a few in that 

 situation, he would saj', don't subscribe ; but if they did, 

 subscriptions would enable them to get rid of it. 



The resolution having been carried unanimously, 



Mr. Barclay proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman. 



The Chairman ackiio\Yl8dged the compliment, and the 

 meeting separated.— (Abridged from the Sussex Express.) 



LANGUAGE OF INSECTS.— I have frequently ob- 

 served twoant.s, meeting on their path across a gravel walk, 

 one going from and the other returning to the nest. They 

 will stop, touch each other's antenna;, and appear to hold a 

 conversation ; and [ could almost fancy that one was com- 

 municating to the other the best place for foraging. This 

 Dr. Franklin thought they have the power of doing, from 

 the following circumstances; Upon discovering a number 

 of ants regaling themselves with some treacle in one of his 

 cupboards, he put them to the rout, and then suspended the 

 pot of treacle by a string from the ceiling. He imagined 

 he had put the whole army to flight, but was surprised to 

 see a single ant quit the pot, climb up the string, cross the 

 ceiling, and regain its nest. In less than half an hour several 

 of hi^ companions sallied forth, traversed the ceiling, and 

 reached the depository, wliich they constantly re-visited 

 until the whole of its contents were consumed,— Jes«e'? 

 Gleanings in Natural History. 



