Years.  Black.  Green.  Total.  Home Consumption. 1838 26,786 8,215 35,001 36,415 1839 30,644 7,680 38,324 36,351 1840 21,063 7,161 28,224 31,716 1841 24,915 6,303 31,218 36,811 1842 31,915 9,729 41,644 37,554 1843 39,513 7,340 46,853 39,902 1844 39,644 8,749 48,393 41,176 1845 39,518 11,790 51,338 44,127 1846 44,017 12,486 55,503 47,534 1847 46,887 8,368 55,255 46,247 1848 37,512 7,611 45,123 48,431 1849 43,234 9,156 52,400 50,100 1850 39,873 8,427 48,300 51,000 1851 62,369 9,131 71,500 54,000 1852 55,525 9,175 64,700 54,724

The duty on tea was gradually raised from 9d. per lb. in 1787 to 3s. a lb. in 1806.  It was 2s. 2d. per lb. until May, 1852, when 4d. per lb. was taken off, and further annual reductions are to be made.  Down to the year 1834 the duty was an ad valorem one of 96 per cent. on all teas sold under 2s. a lb., and of 100 per cent. on all that were sold at or above 2s., charged on the prices which they brought at the East India Company’s sales.  The ad valorem duties ceased on the 22nd of April, 1834, and under the act 3 and 4 William IV. c. 100, all tea imported into the United Kingdom for home consumption was charged with a customs as follows:—­

  Bohea 1s. 6d. per lb. 
  Congou, twankay, hyson skin, orange
    pekoe, and campoi 2 2 "
  Souchong, flowery pekoe, hyson, young
    hyson, gunpowder, imperial, and
    other teas not enumerated 3 0 "

In 1836, the uniform duty of 2s. 1d. per lb. on all descriptions of tea was imposed, which, with the additional 5 per cent, imposed in 1840, made the total duty levied per lb. 2s. 2d. and a fraction.

During the years from 1831 to 1841, in spite of an increase of nearly three millions in the population of the country, and notwithstanding the impetus given to the tea-trade by the abolition of the East India Company’s monopoly in 1833, the increased consumption was only 6,675,566 lbs.  Great as the increase has been of late years, however, it is very far short of what we might expect to see were the duty reduced to a moderate per centage on the value of the article as it comes from the Chinese merchant.  In Jersey and Guernsey, where there is no duty on tea, the average consumption is 41/2 lbs. per head per annum.  The same rate for the United Kingdom would require an annual importation of nearly 150 million lbs.  I asserted, many months ago, if the duty could be gradually reduced from its present exorbitant amount to 1s. per lb., the revenue would not suffer much, whilst the comfort of the people would be much increased, and our trade with China greatly improved.