532 



PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS. 



Board of Trade— Alcoholic Beverages — [H.C. 408]. Price S^d. 



In a memorandum by Mr. Bateman introducing this 

 Statement showing the production and consumption 

 of alcoholic beverages in the various countries of Europe 

 and the United States/' it is stated that almost the whole ot 

 the beer consumed in the United Kingdom (99.9 per cent.) is 

 manufactured in this country. Of spirits, 82.2 per cent, is 

 manufactured at home ; while the whole of the wine, properly 

 so-called, is imported. The consumption per head of the 

 latter liquor is in this country very small, amounting to only 

 about 0'4 of a gallon in the course of a year. 



As regards beer, which is, from the point ot view of the 

 farmer in this country, the more interesting of the three 

 classes of alcoholic beverages, it appears that in the United 

 Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States (the four 

 countries possessing the most reliable statistics of these 

 beverages), the consumption per head has been increasing 

 since 1885 ; the increase being most marked in the United 

 States. Of the four, the United Kingdom consumes the 

 greatest quantity relatively to population (30 gallons per head 

 per annum), followed by Germany with about 25 gallons ; 

 while the United States consume only about 12 J, and France 

 5 gallons. Of other countries, however, Belgium ranks 

 higher, with 43 gallons ; while of individual German States, 

 Bavaria consumes 50 gallons per capita. The total produc- 

 tion of beer in the United Kingdom has increased from 

 991,807,000 gallons in 1882 to 1,238,120,000 gallons in 1896. 

 The production in Germany is somewhat greater. It may be 

 noted that there is a considerable export of beer, amounting 



