100 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



with the consent of the lord of the 

 manor, to break up 'a quantity of 

 common land, and to cultivate _it 

 with potatoes. 



7. It has appeared in evidence 

 before your committee, that in some 

 parts of Scotland and in Cornwall 

 the lower orders of people are con- 

 suming at this time great quantities 

 of fish, which make no inconsidera- 

 ble part of their sustenance ; and 

 your committee understand that a 

 large quantity of Swedish herrings 

 may be obtained from Gottenburgh 

 and the neighbouring ports, at a 

 very reasonable price ; they recom- 

 mend, therefore, that the Swedish 

 herrings should, for a limited time, 

 be imported duty free. And as an 

 encouragement to our own fisheries, 

 and to increase the supply at the 

 present moment, they suggest the 

 propriety of giving a bounty equi- 

 valent to 2.t. 8d. per barrel, (if pro- 

 per regulations can be adopted to 

 provide against fraud) on the cure 

 of mackerel, or of other fish cauglit 

 in the mackerel fisliery, for home 

 consumption ; and your committee, 

 under the present circumstances, 

 strongly recommend thedistribution 

 of fish as an article of parochial re- 

 lief, which may be obtained in many 

 parts of the country, in great quan- 

 tities, at a very moderate price. 



8. An opini(m being prevalent in 

 many parts of the country, and par- 

 ticularly in Scotland and Wales, that 

 a great increase of food for man 

 might be obtained from stopping the 

 distilleries in England, 3'()ur com- 

 mittee thought it their duty tho- 

 roughly to investigate this subject. 

 The quantity of barley consumed 

 in the distilleries has been stated by 

 several personsengaged in the trade, 

 whose evidence is completely corro- 

 borated by that of one of the commis- 



sioners of excise, who has delivered 

 in to your committee calculations on 

 the subject so nearly agreeing with 

 . the accounts given by the distillers, 

 as to satisfy your committee that 

 they are sufficiently accurate for the 

 purpose of forming their opinion. 



It appears that the whole quan- 

 tity of barley consumed in the Eng- 

 lish distilleries amounts only to be- 

 tween twohundredand twenty, and 

 twohundred and fifty thousand quar- 

 ters annually ; that in consequence 

 ofthedistillershavingbeing allowed 

 the use of sugar at the low duties, 

 the consumption of grain has been 

 very much diminished ; that the 

 distillers continue ^vorking from 

 the month of November until the 

 middle or end of May ; that all that 

 can be wanting to complete their 

 works in the present year cannot 

 exceed fifty-three or fifty-five thou- 

 sand quarters ; that the distillers 

 were prohibited the use of wheat, 

 the only grain used in the English 

 distilleries besides barley, by an act 

 passed in the month of October lust; 

 and that in consequence of the de- 

 ficiency of the crops in the last har- 

 vest, and to remove all dissatisfac- 

 tion on account of theii- trade, they 

 entered into an a-jreement to make 

 use of no barley in their distilleries 

 but what was damaged, or of in- 

 ferior quality; to which agreement, 

 by the evidence before your com- 

 mittee, they appear to have strictly 

 adhered. It appears, likewise, that 

 verylai-genumbersof swine and cat- 

 tle are actually fed from the refuse 

 of the distilleries ; and that if they 

 were prohibited from working, the 

 supply of meat would be diminished, 

 or the feeders of cattle and distillers 

 in the neighbourliood of the metro- 

 polis would be under the necessity of 

 using, at a great expense, a quan- 



