272 THE MALT TAX 



believe that these views were quite absent from the minds 

 of those who passed this legislation. 



The foregoing pages show that (1) for something like two 

 centuries (during the period in which the brewing industry 

 was acquiring its present methods and reputation) " beer " 

 was a liquor brewed from malt and hops only ; (2) that every 

 law passed during that period dealing with brewing endea- 

 voured to secure a purity of beer by insisting that only those 

 two articles were used ; (3) that by the Food and Drugs Act 

 in operation to-day every customer is entitled to obtain 

 articles " of the nature, substance, and quality demanded 

 by him ; " (4) that beer was known for so many generations 

 to be made of nothing but malt and hops that it had become 

 a fixed belief in the minds of all consumers that beer contained 

 nothing else but those articles ; (5) that by having something 

 sold to him which was not of the nature, substance, and quality 

 he demanded the consumer was defrauded ; (6) that during 

 the debates in Parliament, and for several years afterwards, 

 nothing was said to enlighten the consumer as to the change 

 that was made by some brewers in the liquor called beer. 

 Bearing these circumstances in mind, it may be fairly urged 

 that, although "beer" has no legal definition to-day, aiiy 

 liquor that has been brewed from substitutes for malt or 

 hops has no right to the name " beer," and that a mixture 

 is not " pure " beer. 



1882. 



Colonel F. St. John Barne, M.P. (a member of the Chamber) 

 introduced a Pure Beer Bill this year. In May two resolu- 

 tions which Mr. Chaplin and Mr. Heneage intended to move 

 on the second reading of the Customs and Inland Revenue 

 Bill were put before the Council. These expressed the 

 opinion that the repeal of the Malt Tax encouraged the use of 

 rice, maize, and other substitutes, and so proved to be injurious 

 to the farmer ; also that the use of these substitutes was 

 injurious to the health of the consumer. 



In February, 1884, the Council passed a resolution asking 

 for a readjustment of the Beer Duty, and again in February, 



