1831.] Beer and Spirit Motiopolies. 525 



and feed a great deal of cattle, both at the farms and the distillery ; and 

 if molasses were to be substituted for corn, it would be ruinous to vs 

 as farmers. We could not feed cattle, and, therefore, we could not 

 get dung for our farms." So ! — in order that one or two Scotch dis- 

 tillers may have dung for their fai'ms, the people of England are to be 

 poisoned by a coarse spirit, made sometimes, as Mr. Dunlop confesses, 

 from coarse " foreign grain, oats, pease, beans, and buck wheat !" But 

 the real objection comes afterwards: — " if they (molasses) were intro- 

 duced, there might be an advantage given to one over another, and I 

 have a distillery fitted up for corn at a great expence, which would be 

 obliged to be altered; and if another man is to come on, merely setting up 

 a washing tub to dissolve sugar in, and so on, a great part of the capital 

 there sunk in my distillery ivoiild be rendered useless," — and so it is with the 

 whole of them : the small distiller, who might, with the aid of a new 

 material, make a better and cheaper spirit, must be discouraged, in 

 order that the large distillers may enjoy a benefit prejudicial to the 

 public. 



Mr. Archibald Dunlop grounds his objections to molasses on nearly 

 the same grounds, viz. — " insecurity to the revenue, (!) the diminution 

 in the value of my premises, proportioned to the limitation of their use, 

 and ray own local situation," "the waste of my premises," &c. He states 

 that the quality of spirits made fi'om molasses in 1800 was '' exceedingly 

 bad, and universally disliked." Now we happen to know, that though 

 at the first introduction of molasses spirits in Scotland, there was a 

 prejudice against that kind of liquor, yet that when once known, it was 

 universally admitted to be a much " cleaner" or purer spirit than grain 

 whiskey, and that the public became so much attached to it, that it was 

 difficult, in the return to a grain distillation, to bring grain spirits again 

 into common use : and some of the gentlemen who heard Mr. Dunlop 

 give his evidence, could in that respect have flatly contradicted him ! 

 Dr. Ure, who has paid particular attention to the subject, expressly 

 states, in reference to the result of recent experiments with grain and 

 molasses, " that molasses would be far less productive of the nauseous 

 butyraceous oil (the poison already mentioned,) than grain whiskey ; for 

 in the experiment I made with Mr. Atlee's wash (grain,) I was very 

 much troubled with that oil, but in the present case (molasses) I have 

 observed none of it." 



All this seems, however, to be considered as nothing. The health, 

 comfort, and prosperity, of the middling and lower classes must not be 

 put in competition with the interests of a few great monopolists, and the 

 political support of a few ignorant and interested members of the landed 

 interest, who are influenced by them ! John Bull may grumble, and 

 make faces ; but unless he has sufficient spirit to " brew for himself," 

 he must continue to swallow any poisonous stuff' they choose to give 

 him ; for being at all times rather hydrophobious, and horribly afraid, 

 at the present moment, of cholera morbus, — he must, at whatever risk, 

 have something better than water to drink. 



The leading brewers and distillers are endeavouring, by the most in- 

 genious tergiversation, to frighten ministers and the landed interest into 

 the belief, that by admitting a small cjuantity of molasses into the 

 breweries, to displace an equal quantity of foreign barley, not only the 

 agriculturists, but the revenue will bo endangered. We should like to 

 know, how much some of the Scotch distillers, whom we could name. 



