280 THE MALT TAX 



public feeling was strong on the subject. On 19th January 

 Lord Salisbury replied, declining to receive the deputation. 



At the beginning of 1901 an independent body was formed 

 called " The Committee to Promote the Purity of Beer," 

 with Mr. Henry Chaplin as President, and Sir Cuthbert 

 Quilter as Chairman of the Executive Committee. A strong 

 body of Members of Parliament (drawn from both sides of 

 the House) and other influential men joined this Committee, 

 and, working in close touch with the Central Chamber, every 

 effort was made to introduce and carry through a Bill to 

 prevent the fraudulent sale of substitutes for beer and the 

 use of all deleterious materials. 



Mr. Robert Purvis obtained a good place in the ballot, and 

 introduced the Pure Beer Bill, on behalf of Sir Cuthbert 

 Quilter. Subject to certain amendments, this Bill was strongly 

 supported by the Chambers, and it got a second reading by 

 245 votes to 133. It was referred to a Standing Committee, 

 but by this time public feeling had subsided, and in spite 

 of all that the Chambers and the Committee to Promote 

 the Purity of Beer could do, the Government refused to 

 give facilities for its further progress, and consequently 

 the Bill died a natural death. The appointment of the Royal 

 Commission had served its purpose, and cemented the partner- 

 ship between the Government and the users of substitutes. 



All that was accomplished was that an alteration was made 

 in the Brewers' Licensing Returns, which for the future divided 

 brewers into two classes those that used malt only and those 

 that used malt with substitutes *and under the powers given 

 by the Inland Revenue Act of 1888 the Lords Commissioners 

 of the Treasury issued an order prohibiting the use of any 



* The relative proportions of malt and malt substitutes, and hops 

 and hop substitutes, are shown in the following table . 



1911-12. 1912-13. 1911-12. 1912-13. 



100.00 100.00 i 100.00 100.00 



