May  I,  i8g6.J 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
791 
34  000,0001b  in  1889-90,  fully  50,000,0001b  in  the  suc- 
ceeeding  year,  above  72  000,000  1b  in  1893-94,  and 
ultimately  reaching  (as  estimated)  no  less  than 
85  000,0001b  for  1895-96.  These  arc  enormous  amounts, 
equalled  only  by  the  consumption  itself,  which  has 
foil  wed  closely  -upon  the  heels  of  production,  the 
deliveries  lately  averaging  about  6,500,000  lb.  per 
month,  or  78,000,000  lb.  per  annum ; and  the  stock 
on  hand  at  this  port  now  f iras  an  aggregate  of 
17,575,000  lb.,  against  17,482,800  lb.  at  the  end  of 
March,  1895.  The  quantities  of  Ceylon  tea  passing 
through  the  United  Kingdom  for  transhipment  to 
places  abroad  likewise  constitute  a feature  of  grow- 
ing importance  to  the  trade  in  general.  During  the 
year  1895  the  total  clearances  hence  without  paying 
duty  expanded  to  7,093,000  lb.,  in  lieu  of  5,124,000  lb. 
in  1894,  and  4,066,000  lb.  in  1893.  A great  propor- 
tion of  the  exports  penetrate  into  remote  parts  of 
Kussian  territory,  where  the  taste  for  Ceylon  tea  is 
being  more  widely  cultivated  every  year. 
With  regard  to  the  future  Messrs.  Geo.  White 
and  Co.  observe  that  “ The  gradual  falling-on  in  the 
consumption  of  China  Congou,  which  will  possibly 
bo  intensified  in  the  near  future,  should  help  the 
sale  of  British-grown  tea  as  the  demand  for  the 
colonies  and  America,  as  well  as  Russia  and  other 
places,  is  steadily  expanding,  consequent  on  the 
persistent  efforts  made  to  that  end  in  those  coun- 
tries under  the  auspices  of  both  the  Indian  and 
Ceylon  Tea  Associations.  Without  such  aid  pro- 
duction bids  fair  to  outstrip  consumption,  as  is 
already  the  case  with  some  other  articles  from 
the  East.  The  unsatisfactory  results  of  Calcutta 
and  Colombo  purchases,  especially  where  they 
have  been  held  over,  are  in  a measure  attri- 
butable to  the  non-keeping  qualities  of  a large  por- 
tion of  the  year’s  shipments — more  apparent  in  the 
produce  of  an  unfavourable  season  than  when  the 
liquor  is  rich  and  full  in  flavour.  Invoices  printed 
on  ‘importers’  account  ’ do  not,  in  busy  times,  receive 
the  same  attention  from  Loudon  buyers  as  direct 
shipments  from  the  gardens,  and  as  purchasers  often 
only  taste  the  latter,  the  question  of  having  a 
separate  time  for  the  sale  of  these  has  been  mooted. 
In  the  event,  therefore,  of  an  increasing  output  in 
the  chief  producing  countries,  it  will  be  desirable,  if 
possible  for  attention  to  be  directed  to  the  make  of 
choice  descriptions,  w'ith  the  special  characteris- 
tics for  which  certain  districts  have  already 
secured  a reputation.”  The  power  to  push  and  ex- 
tend the  sale  and  consumption  of  Ceylon  tea  un- 
doubtedly rests  with  the  London  buyers,  who  have 
a motive  for  searching  out  new  market  when  the 
supply  is  greatly  in  excess  of  the  immediate  require- 
ments of  the  home  trade. — B.  C.  Mail,  April  15. 
THE  GRIEVANCES  OF  THE  COFFEE 
TRADE. 
Last  week  there  was  a meeting  of  importers,  ex- 
porters, home  trade  dealers,  and  brokers  connected 
with  the  cofiee  trade  held  at  the  Commercial  Sale 
Rooms,  Minicing  Lane,  London,  to  consider  a memo- 
rial which  it  is  proposed  to  send  to  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  (Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach,  M.P.)  on 
the  subject  of  formulating  a system  for  the  better 
working  of  coffees  in  bond.  Mr.  Robert  Wales  (Messrs. 
Moffatt  and  Co.)  presided,  and  amongst  those  present 
were  Messrs.  G.  Rouse  (R.  J.  Rouse  and  Co.),  chair- 
man of  the  Coffee  Brokers’  Association,  Brown  (Carey 
and  Brown),  J.  A.  Davies  (Peek  Bros  and  Winch, 
Ltd.),  Keeble  (J.  Travers  and  Sons,  l td.),  Boyes  (E. 
Boyes  and  Co.),  Asser  (Asser  and  Co.),  and  J.  C. 
Sanderson  (Sanderson  and  Co.),  Iron.  sec. 
The  Chairman  said  a fortnight  ago  those  interested 
in  the  trade  met  and  formed  a committee  to  draft 
a memorial  to  be  sent  to  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  in  regard  to  the  objects  which  they  had 
in  view.  The  considerations  which  guided  them  in 
drawing  up  the  memorial  were  that  they  should  be 
brief  and  practical,  and  that  the  views  they  held 
should  be  put  before  the  e hancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
in  the  best  possible  way.  But  what  they  urged  very 
strongly  was  the  abolition  of  the  duty  as  the  most 
effective  method  of  doing  away  with  the  difficulties 
which  at  present  existed  in  the  trade. 
Mr.  Sanderson  then  read  the  draft  of  the  memorial 
proposed  to  be  sent  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
as  follows  : 
” In  your  reply  to  the  deputation  which  waited 
upon  you  at  the  Hou.se  of  Commons  on  February 
27th  last,  you  stated  that  you  were  willing  to  con- 
sider any  suggestion  the  coffee  trade  wished  to  put 
forward  for  a rearrangement  of  the  present  system 
of  working  coffees  in  London.  In  order  to  ascertain 
the  general  wishes  of  the  trade,  a meeting  was 
he’d  at  the  London  Commercial  Sale  Rooms  on 
Thursday,  March  12,  when  the  following  resolu- 
tion was  unauimosly  carried  : — ‘ That  a Committee 
of  iiu.oiters,  exporters,  home  trade  dealers  and 
brokers  be  formed  with  the  object  of  formulating 
a system  for  the  better  working  of  coffees  in  bond, 
and  that  the  Committee  do  report  to  a general 
meeting  of  the  trade  the  result  of  their  delibera- 
tions, prior  to  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  for  Consideration. 
“ The  committee  appointed  was  as  follows : Mr. 
Oscar  Schwartz,  representing  Messrs.  F.  Huth  and 
Co. ; Mr.  Ed.  Landsberg,  represonting  Landsberg  and 
Co.;  Mr.  Robert  Wales,  representing  Moffatt  and  Co.; 
Mr.  J.  A.  Davies,  representing  Peek  Brothers  and 
Winch,  Ltd. ; Mr.  Geo.  Rouse,  representing  R.  J. 
Rouse  and  Co.  ; Mr.  E.  A.  Rucker,  representing  I.  A. 
Rucker  and  Bencraft  j Mr.  J.  0.  Sanderson,  repre- 
senting Sanderson  and  Co.  ; Mr.  Julius  Ehemann, 
representing  Edmund  Schluter  and  Co. 
" This  report  has  been  drawn  up  and  approved 
by  the  trade  ; it  is  now  placed  in  your  hands,  and 
your  petititioners  trust  that  you  will  give  it  a 
favourable  consideration.  Our  present  system  of 
handling  coffee  is  an  antiquated  one,  suitable 
perhaps  to  the  conditions  of  trade  current  years 
ago,  before  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal,  when 
coffee  arrived  in  sailing  vessels,  before  cost  and 
freight  and  arrival  business  were  in  vogue,  and  when 
London  as  an  entrepot  was  on  the  up-grade,  and 
not  subject  to  severe  competition.  No  individual 
in  the  coffee  trade  can  remember  the  the  period 
at  which  our  present  system,  with  its  restrictions, 
became  inaugurated,  so  antiquated  is  it.  The  follow- 
ing figures  show  how  the  coffee  trrde  of  the  United 
Kingdom  has  declined  during  the  last  twenty-seven 
years  : The  total  imports  into  Europe  from  all  coun- 
tries in  1879  was  337,654  tons,  of  which  77,416  tons  came 
to  the  United  Kingdom  ; in  1888  (the  year  the  Emanci- 
pation Act  in  the  Brazils  was  passed)  the  European 
imports  were  381,700  tons,  of  which  47,700  tons 
came  to  the  United  Kingdom,  while  in  1895  European 
imports  had  increased  to  490,800  tons,  and  the 
United  Kingdom  imports  had  fallen  to  38,800  tons  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  in  1869  our  imports  were  about 
23  per  cent  of  the  total  European  imports ; in  1888 
they  had  fallen  to  about  13  per  cent  ; while  in. 
1895  they  were  only  about  8 per  cent. 
“ Your  petitioners  state  that  the  present 
system  of  working  coffee  by  the  Customs  is  as 
follows:—!.  Coffee  is  landed,  bulked,  and  weighed 
under  the  eye  of  the  Custom  House  officer.  The 
last  operation  is  done  after  the  package  is  close! 
up.  and  any  weight  over  tho  even  pound  is  not 
taken  account  of,  thus  the  importer  usually  suffers 
a loss  in  weight,  which,  with  a change  of  system, 
may  be  avoided.  2.  As  each  import  is  kept  by  the 
rotation  number  of  the  ship,  with  marks,  piles,  and 
numbers,  the  Customs  will  not  permit  an  importer 
to  mix  together  lots  of  similar  quality  and  marks 
(unless  they  are  imported  in  the  same  ship),  either  at 
the  time  of  landing  or  afterwards,  without  petition- 
ing the  Customs,  which  operation  entails  serious 
delay,  and  is  too  costly,  especially  ir  je  case  of 
small  parcels. 
‘‘  As  regards  the  necessity  for  facilities,  ,ve  point 
out  that  the  tendency  is  for  coffee  to  arrive  less 
and  less  in  a condition  for  the  roaslci-;  that  in  the 
Brazils,  since  the  abohtion  of  slaveiv  in  1888,  the 
huge  crop,  averaging  400,000  tons  of  coffee,  of  which 
we  get  the  absuidly  small  portion  of  about  5,000  to 
8,000  ton.s,  comes  in  a far  less  prepared  state  than  it 
was  wynt  to  do,  and  that  from  other  countries  partly 
