the  tropical  agriculturist. 
[April  r,  1896. 
695 
The  Quarterly  Sales  of  Cinnamon. — Cinnamon 
has  this  year  shown  an  advance  in  rate?.  The  land- 
ings of  the  Ceylon  description  in  London  during  the 
eight  weeks  ended  the  22nd  ult.  were  1,435  pkgs. 
against  only  585  packages  in  the  same  period  last 
year.  The  total  deliveries  amounted  to  1,080  pkgs, 
as  opposed  to  785  packages,  and  the  stock  at  the 
above-mentioned  date  showed  an  excess  of  1,245 
packages,  being  4,640  packages  against  3,495  packages 
in  1895.  The  periodical  sales  held  last  week  com- 
prised 1,790  bales  Ceylon,  which  met  a fairly  good 
demand  for  although  the  prices  realised  were  not 
fully  on  a par  with  those  lately  current  by  private, 
treaty,  they  were  |d  to  |d  per  lb.  higher  than  in 
November,  1895,  and  the  commonest  sorts  went  at 
the  extreme  advance.  Of  the  whole  quantity  offered 
about  1,400  bales  were  described  a “ unworked,”  and 
these  parcels,  as  well  as  the  remainder  of  the  supply, 
found  free  buyers  as  the  following  rates  : — Low  to 
line  firsts  at  94  to  Is  Id,  superior  at  Is  2d  to  Is  5d ; 
seconds  from  9d  to  Is  Id,  finest  at  Is  3d ; thirds  at 
8id  to  Is  Id  ; fourth  and  fifth  qualities  at  8d  to  lO^d  ; 
and  broken  (in  three  boxes)  at  9d  to  lOd  per  lb. 
A favourite  growth  which  failed  to  appear  in  the 
previous  sales  fetched  the  top  market  value. — H and  C. 
Mail,  March  6. 
♦ 
TEA  IN  AMERICA. 
New  York,  Feb.  19. 
We  can  only  repeat  the  old,  old  story  of  a dull 
and  unsatisfactory  market.  Recently,  there  was  sold 
an  invoice  of  Japan-Gunpowders  at  33J  per  cent,  less 
than  the  actual  cost  of  the  manufacture  in  Japan, 
and  which  the  owner  would  be  glad  to  resell  at 
12c  per  lb.  which  is  still  below  the  cost  of  manufactui-e. 
Low  grade  teas  are  in  buyers’  favor,  in  fact  every 
grade  except  such  as  may  be  in  scant  supply. 
Today  at  noon  the  Montgomery  Auction  and  Com- 
mission Company  will  sell  6,215  packages,  viz.:  999 
half-chests  Moyune  ; 2,105  boxes  Ri  gsuey  ; .36  half- 
chests Japan; 97  half-chests  Japan,  basket  fired  ; 179 
half-Congou ; 25  boxes  Capers ; 197  packages  India, 
Java  and  Pekoe  ; 30  half-chests  and  boxes  Amoy  ; 333 
half-chests  Foochow— new  season’s  ; 2,304  half  chests 
and  boxes  Formosa,  including  new  season’s. — AMCricau 
Groca-. 
FOR  A SPECIFIC  DUTY  ON  TEA. 
ARGUMENTS  BEFORE  SUB-COMMITTEE 
OF  WAYS  AMD  MEANS. 
MEMUERS  of  the  trade  of  new  YORK,  BOSTON,  AM) 
OTHER  CITIES  MAKE  STRONO  PRESENTATION  IN  FAVOR 
OF  A SPECIFIC  DUTY — BY  THIS  MEANS  THEY  HOPE 
TO  KEEP  OUT  THE  POOR  TEAS  WHICH  ARE 
FLOODING  OUR  MARKETS. 
Washington,  Feb.  17. — A strong  presentation  of 
the  case  for  a specific  duty  on  imported  tea  was 
made  before  the  sub-committee  ot  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  today,  by  the  delegation  of  im- 
porters which  came  here  for  the  purpose  from  New 
York  Boston,  and  other  importing  cities.  Governor 
Uingiey,  the  chairman  of  the  full  committee,  presided, 
and*^  the  other  members  present  were  Messrs. 
Payne  of  New  York,  Dalzell  of  Pennsylvania,  Steele 
of  Indiana,  Turner  of  Georgia,  and  McMiliin  of 
Tennessee.  They  all  paid  keen  attention  to  the 
closely  reasoned  arguments  of  Mr.  E.  A.  Willard,  the 
secretary  of  the  committee  of  the  tea  trade,  who  has 
HO  much  to  give  definite  shape  to  the  present 
movement.  Mr.  Fredk.  Mead,  Jr.,  of  New  York,  Mr. 
Geo.  II.  Macy  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Charles  U. 
^^Ir^^Willard  stated  that  a duty  of  10  cents  per 
pound  would  accomplish  what  was  desired  in  the 
direction  of  shutting  out  cheap  and  injurious  teas,  and 
that  the  United  Btates  was  the  only  country  that 
did  not  impose  a duty.  Governor  Dingley  in- 
, mired  whether  the  bill  introduced  by  Repre- 
sentative Cummings  imposing  a discriminating 
dutv  of  19  PCT  cent  ad  valorem  on  teas  from 
the"^  west  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope  would 
not  serve  the  desired  purpose.  Mr.  Willard  replied 
that  he  did  not  think  that  it  would  serve,  because  an 
ad  valorem  duty  would  make  the  duty  so  much  heavier 
on  the  high  class  tea  than  on  the  low  class  that  it 
would  not  effectually  shut  out  the  latter.  Mr.  Payne 
inquired  w'hether  the  importers  had  not  changed  their 
minds  since  they  advocated  a discriminating  duty  be- 
fore the  committee  in  1890.  Mr.  Mead  replied  to 
this  question  by  saying,  that  they  had  not  changed 
their  minds,  and  that  the  bill  then  presented  had  an 
entirely  difierent  purpose.  It  was  to  shut  out  the 
English  jobbers,  who  could  carry  teas  so  much 
cheaper  because  of  the  difference  in  warehouse  charges 
and  other  charges  in  England.  It  was  also  aimed 
against  the  10  per  cent  discriminating  duty  imposed  by 
Canada  upon  tea. 
“We  do  not  come  to  talk  about  revenue,”  said  Mr. 
Mead,  “ we  want  to  shut  out  so  much  trash  and  poor 
tea  which  has  come  to  such  a pass  that  one-third  to 
one-half  of  that  imported  has  been  sold  at  ten  cents 
or  less.  It  is  all  sold  at  retail  at  fifty  cents 
a pound.  People  will  not  buy  any  tea  at  lower  prices, 
but  retailers  give  presents  with  it.  Nearly  all  that 
trash  comes  here  and  shuts  out  good  tea  from  this 
country.  It  has  been  going  on  for  some  years,  but 
has  grown  to  enormous  proportions  this  year. 
Mr.  Payne  inquired  whether  they  did  not  mix  it 
with  good  tea. 
“O,  no,  sir;  they  do  not  mix  it  with  good  tea  at 
all,”  replied  Mr.  Mead.  “ They  give  presents  with  it. 
Through  the  West  and  Southwest  you  really  cannot 
get  a cup  of  good  tea.  The  consumption  is  fast 
decreasing.” 
Gov.  Dingley  inquired  why  the  law  prohibiting  the 
importation  of  such  bogus  teas  was  not  more  effective. 
“In  the  first  place,”  replied  Mr.  Mead,  “the  law 
provides  for  an  arbitration,  and  if  the  staff  is  shut 
out  by  an  inspector  the  importer  appoints  one,  and 
the  Government  one,  and  these  two  appoint  a third, 
member  of  a board  of  arbitration,  which  is  a mere 
matter  of  bargain,  and  the  arbitration  becomes  a farce. 
People  do  not  like,  as  arbitrators,  to  sit  down  on  their 
neighbours’  tea.  lu  addition  to  that,  if  it  is  shut  out  in 
New  York  it  slips  in  somewhere  else.  Mr.  Bunn,  the  Ap- 
E raiser  at  New  York,  told  me  that  they  had  tried  very 
ard  with  that  law  and  found  it  impracticable  to  shut 
out  this  poor  tea.  There  is  a good  deal  of  this  tea  that 
would  not  come  under  that  law,  because  it  is  tea, 
although  it  is  a very  low  grade  tea.  Mr.  Bunn  said 
to  me  that  it  Mr.  Dingley  wants  him  to  come  be- 
fore him  aud  tell  him  about  this,  he  will  be  very  glad 
to  do  it.  He  agrees  with  us  that  a specific  duty  on 
tea  is  the  only  solution  for  us  He  sent  out  a man 
through  the  West,  and  that  report  is  in  the  Trea- 
sury. We  cannot  come  to  any  conclusion  how  that 
law  could  be  made  practicable.” 
Judge  Turner  inquired  the  prices  of  teas  and 
said,  that  he  would  like  to  hear  from  the  comsumer, 
but  Mr.  Mead  assured  him  that  the  consumer  could 
get  no  good  tea  now  and  none  at  retail  less  than  50 
cents  a pound. 
Mr.  Dalzell  inquired  how  a specific  duty  of  10 
cents  would  shut  out  poor  tea  for  the  benefit  of 
good  tea. 
Mr.  Meade  pointed  out  that  a duty  of  300  per 
cent,  the  ad  valorem  equivalent  of  15  cents  a pound 
on  5-cent  teas,  would  prevent  bringing  the  lower 
grades  into  the  country.  He  explained,  also,  that 
the  tea  was  not  brought  here  by  American  pur- 
chasers, but  was  sent  by  foreign  shippers  on  credit 
and  that  if  there  was  a duty  these  snipments  would 
not  be  made.  That,  he  declared,  was  the  history 
of  the  matter  during  the  war.  We  had  no  bad  tea 
while  the  duty  was  on.  The  stuff  that  we  got 
before  that  ceased  coming.  It  was  nothing  but  the 
specific  duty  that  did  it. 
Mr.  Willard  resumed  his  argument  and  declared 
that  one  of  the  largest  firms  in  the  trade  had  given 
up  buying  tea,  but  was  still  handling  it  on  these 
credits.  'This  firm  thought  that  the  business  ought 
to  be  stopped,  aud  had  signed  the  petition  to  the 
committee.  The  tea  sold  at  50  cents  with  pre- 
sents thrown  in,  Mr.  Willard  declared,  is  absolutely 
injurious  to  the  people,  and  there  is  nothing  but 
the  presents  that  makes  it  go.  People  were  coming 
to  know  much  less  about  tea  than  formerly. 
