IS 



beer spirits, or that made from brewers' grains. The new law 

 was drafted with reference to the best interests of the brewing 

 industry and the government, while the tax on alcohol was in- 

 cluded as a sort of side issue. Of course the law rested only 

 on the spirits produced from malt. In 1808 (January 26), 

 the taxes existing in different parts of the kingdom on fruit, 

 wine and potato spirits were abolished and a uniform still tax 

 introduced for them. Under the two laws the taxation was 

 very unequal. Alcohol made from brewers' grains was really 

 free, as the malt had already been taxed, while that from 

 fruit, wine, etc., paid a relatively high amount. These condi- 

 tions caused numerous complaints, particularly from the 

 farmers, and on February 11, 1811, the still tax was abol- 

 ished. 1 This made the tax on liquors exceedingly low in 

 Bavaria, as only the small amount of malt used to develop 

 the mash was assessed at all. As a consequence we find the 

 industry developing very rapidly, particularly among the 

 farmers using potatoes. 



Bavaria is one of the garden spots of Germany and in the 

 fertile river valleys and on the warm southern hills the crops 

 are raised that built up long ago the sturdy prosperous peas- 

 antry for which the country is known. These men were nor 

 slow to discover the advantages of the potato, and soon the 

 fields that produced the celebrated Bavarian brewing barley 

 were frequently planted to the tuber, particularly after the 

 crop failures of 1816-17, which, as we have seen, gave increased 

 impetus to its cultivation. The necessity of utilizing the 

 crop and the favorable condition of taxation rapidly increased 

 the agricultural stills, and soon placed Bavaria in a position 

 to export considerable quantities of liquor. 



These favorable conditions of production and of export con- 

 tinued even after the union with the Zoll-Verein, until in 

 1841, the system of "Uebergaugsversteurung" was adopted 

 viz., imported goods were assessed on the boundry the amount 

 of the domestic tax, while the tax paid was refunded on goods 

 exported. 2 Bavaria levied a boundry tax on imported spirits, 



1. Wolf, Branntweinsteuer, pp. 84-85. and E. Meyer, pre. cit., p. 150. 



2. Wolf, pre. cit., p. 86. 



