536 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb. 1, 1899. 
DUTCH COLONIAL TEA vs. ENGfJSH 
DITTO IN CONNECTION WITH 
THE RUPEE EXCHANGE. 
Under the aljove lieadiiiy- the Indische Mereuur 
of Dec. 3ril has tlie tollowiiif,' further coiniiinni- 
cation from Mr. van d'er Chy.s, liead of the tea 
department of the firm of Weti. J. van der Cliy* 
& Zoon : — 
In connection witli and conclusion of my article 
on the above .suljject in the I/idi.trfie Meicuur 
of 19th ult. (No. 889) I i)!aced myself in further 
communication reKardin;^ ihi.s matter with H.M. 
Con.sul-General in London, the Hon. Mr. H.y. 
J. Maas, who for the sake of the great Dutch 
advantages to be anticipated eventually there- 
from, was so obliging as to collect .statement* 
from the most competent persons. Havingliherty 
to use any of these according to my judgment, 
I speciallj' give the following on this subject, 
which I think it is perliaps of importance to 
bring to the notice of parties interested. • " The 
agitation of the Tea Planters' Association in 
Calcutta appears so far to have caused loss sen- 
sation in London than one would have reason 
to suppose from their cries of distress, since 
there has not been received there a single tele- 
graphic communication, regarding what was done 
at the gathering at Calcutta, on the 14!h ult. 
The notes of tliis meeting, which we shall see 
in a few weeks, will however be sent me by 
Mr. Maas, and will then be niade public by me 
in the Indische Mcrcuur, if permission is granted 
me. As to what tlie Grocer says regarding even- 
tual State assistance, either by a total abcdition 
of the duties on tea of British Indian origin, 
or by raising the duties on the so-called ' foreign 
teas' in proportion to the los>ei ari.oing fronj 
the fixing of the rupee rate of exchange at 
l.s 4d for English subjects, towards neitlier of 
these two methods does the English Govern- 
ment give cause for fear. As regards the first, 
there has for some yenrs been a struggle by 
the labour party for a total abolition of the tea 
duties (the so-called " free breakfast tiible ") but 
this has, at present at least with the growing 
expenditure ler war material, little immedifte 
chance of success, and moi cover the infraction 
of the free trade policy is so revolutionary to 
the whole English system of commerce, that 
there can scarcely be a talk of such methods, 
in contrast with that mentioned by the Grocer. 
The following paragraph appeared in the latest 
number «)f that paper (26 Nov.) in connection 
with the preceding : — 
Tha Indian Government's proposal to fix the Indian 
rate of exchange at Is 4d appears to be viewed with 
conaiderable disfavour by those interested in the tea- 
growing industry of India and Ceylon. The secretary 
of the Indian Tea .\ssociation and the seere^a^y of the 
Ceylon Tea Association have both prjteated. Durins; 
the present season Ceylon has exported to foreign porta 
7,000,000 lb. more tea than she did last year. 
[• As there are no quotation marks given at the 
conclusion of tha citation, it is impossible to tell 
whether all that follows is from the correspondent, or 
whether some of the remarks are Mr, Van der Chya 
own.— Tb.] 
DISTRIBUTION OF CEVLON 
IN 189s. 
ILA 
He take from our evening cootemporarv the 
following statement of the shipments of tea to 
London and the Colonies,— logeiher with total shji,- 
ments to all couiitries-as compared wiili la«t 
year : — 
tNITED KINGDOM. 
January 
February 
March 
April 
May 
June 
July 
A'jgust 
September 
October 
November 
December 
January 
February 
March 
April 
May 
Jane 
July 
August 
SBpteniber 
October 
November 
Dacember 
1897 
lb. 
8,5-12,897 
6.:«8,232 
9.172,860 
9,373,704 
9,-15",88l 
11.504,127 
10,2«5,172 
6,.'j28,I(J5 
6,18G,5sO 
5,524,l9a 
C.598,271 
9,434,945 
98,9:-«),059 
AU.STBALIA.\ COLONIES. 
1897. 
lb. 
950,977 
787,910 
.. 0 1,279.408 
l,2.Sj,;-'W 
1,500.:M.'-, 
983,301 
967.540 
1,077.655 
954,230 
908,144 
1,329,(170 
1,139,749 
13,179,736 
TOTAL SHIPMKNTS. 
Unit«d Kingdom 
Australia 
America 
Russia 
Others Ports .. 
Estimated. 
1897. 
lb. 
98.930,059 
13,258,450 
830,873 
439.349 
2,595,629 
116,054,500 
1898 
lb. 
8,1. Vi. 769 
0,720.lHil 
y,.'il8,776 
0 941,310 
9,943 674 
9,733,910 
10216,749 
<i.397,82S 
7,317,074 
6,2-i'.i,336 
•■■.4<Jl,2H 
■»8,tO0,000 
95,977,635 
1898. 
lb. 
1 290,955 
l,i'31 979 
1,1.">),C87 
1,184.076 
1,832.110 
1.501,280 
1,129,211 
1,179,516 
904,218 
1,004,234 
937,436 
•1,285,1(00 
15.151,693 
1898. 
lb. 
95,977,030 
15.151.693 
2,100.0f»0 
2,4fJ0.000 
3 5 JO.OOO 
•119,129,323 
Dr. Joh.vson and Tka drinking.-Iu YoUt 
and Qxunu for 19th November, are two more com 
munications on this subject. Mr. Geo Clu'ow 
writes:— "The inordinate consumption of 'tea 
which, even under his own confession, belong- to 
the personality of the good Doctor, rn.iy, after all 
have not been so, and especially if judgpa by 
modern standards. It has to be remembered that 
tea was, in the Johnsonian age. a luxury, and 
was di.spensed in small do.ses. As I wrire'l have 
before me some tea cups of that era— such as were 
in ordinary use-the fluid capacity being but a 
httle over one ounce. Twenty-four of si.ch cups 
would total surely a pint and a half." Mi- Edward 
f'-^^- Hastings, writes:-" Johnson 
himself Ploried in having swallowed twenty- 
hve cups, in revenge upon a lady who tried to ex- 
ploit him, while at the same time he 'did not 
Memoio'" ' niany words' (Cumberland's 
