498 



THE DISTILLING INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



in Great Britain to 2d., ^d., or 4^., according to the material used. In 1724 

 (the first year for which records for the whole of the United Kingdom of 

 the quantity of spirits upon which duty was charged are available), the duty 

 had increased to "^d. — 6d. in Great Britain, and to 8^. in Ireland. In that 

 year the quantity charged with the duty and the duty paid was as follows : — - 



The duty in England and Scotland was subsequently increased, and in 

 175 1 the figures were: — 



In 1773 the quantity charged with duty m Ireland for the first time 

 reached the one million gallons mark, and though the duty was raised, the 

 production as measured by the quantity charged with duty, rapidly increased, 

 amounting to over 2,000,000 gallons in 1781, and to over 3,000,000 gallons 

 nine years later. These figures relate only to the quantity upon which duty 

 was paid in Ireland, and no official figures relating to the amount actually 

 distilled are available until 1802, when the number of gallons of spirits 

 manufactured was as follows: — 3,384,742 in England, 1,344,835 in Scotland, 

 and 4,475,458 in Ireland. 



In the early part of the nineteenth century the rate of duty was constantly 

 changed, and ranged from over ^s. to over lis. in England, but was much 

 lower in Scotland and Ireland. In 1821 when the duty was i is. per gallon in 

 England, 6s. 2d. in Scotland, and 5 j-. 73^*2'. in Ireland, the quantities produced 

 in the three countries were: — 2,662,852 gallons in England ; 3, 2iC,858 gallons 

 in Scotland; and 3,627,552 gallons in Ireland. About 1825 when the duty 

 was reduced, a great increase in production took place, the quantity distilled 

 in that year being 2,039,771 gallons in England, 8,224,807 in Scotland, and 

 8,835,027 in Ireland. In 1836 the quantity made in Ireland amounted to 

 11,894,169 gallons, which, until 1879, was the highest on record for Ireland. 

 Then came Father Mathew's Temperance Movement, and whilst the 

 quantity of spirits made in Great Britain remained fairly stationary, the 

 production in Ireland fell for several years to less than half of what it was in 

 1838. In a few years, however, the manufacture of spirits revived, and for 

 the ten years after the Famine, it amounted each year to over 8,000,000 

 gallons. 



The duty in Ireland was only 2s. Sd. per gallon until 1853, when it was 

 raised to ^s. 4^., in the following year the duty was increased to 4s., and then 

 to 6^-. 2d., whilst in 1858 the duty was raised to Ss., and thus equalised with 

 the duty in Great Britain. This rapid increase in taxation, the duty being 



