MR. HUMEsaid, he wished to inquire of the right hon. Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the decision to which Her Majesty's Government had come respecting the admixture of chicory with coffee?
§ The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERSir, when Her Majesty's Government acceded to office I found the question relating to the mixture of chicory with coffee in this condition:—A Minute was passed in July, 1852, prohibiting that mixture, and laying down certain regulations for the sale of the two articles. Three months were allowed to the traders to get rid of their stock of the mixed articles, and consequently the Minute did not take effect until the 3rd of November. Subsequently to the 3rd of November the parties affected by that Minute addressed representations to the Treasury, and they had certain interviews with the then First 547 Lord of the Treasury upon the subject. Those communications were, in fact, going on upon the subject of the Minute at the time when the present Government came into office. At that period no prosecutions had been instituted with the view to enforce the Minute recently passed. The consequence was, that when I became Chancellor of the Exchequer I found that Minute under discussion and consideration. No measures had been taken to give full operation to the law; therefore the parties very naturally made an immediate application to me, or rather continued the application they had been making to the previous Government, calling for a reconsideration of the Minute. It appeared to me under these circumstances to be my duty to reconsider the Minute upon its merits ab initio, and not to deal with it as I should have done if I had found it in full operation. This investigation has been one of no small difficulty; but it has been narrowed to a certain extent, and the difficulty has been limited by the request of the parties adverse to the Minute. They no longer ask the Government to fall back upon the system which prevailed before the passing of the Minute, because the Government might in some sense be considered accessory to fraud if they were simply to repeal the Minute of last July. They have confined themselves to requesting, not that all the restrictions might be removed, but that they may be permitted to sell the article of chicory mixed with coffee under labels designating it as such mixture. After this representation made by the parties, and after a full investigation of a variety of statements on the opposite side, proceeding from parties engaged in the trades of grocers and coffee dealers, and those in connexion with the colonial interest in Ceylon, and after maturely weighing the interest the revenue has in this question, and the interest the public have in the character of the mixture itself—under all these circumstances, the Government have come to the conclusion that they will best consult the public interest by acceding to the request of the parties who have asked for a modification of the present system—that is to say, by-allowing the article of chicory to be sold in a state of mixture with coffee, provided it is so distinctly designated by labels attached to the packets; but at the same time by attempting to give full effect to the restrictions in all other respects connected with the sale of chicory. I will 548 not now enter into a discussion of the reasons upon which this course has been adopted by the Government. If any Gentleman wishes for such a discussion, I shall be prepared to enter into the details.
§ MR. DISRAELIwished just to state to the House that the late Government did not accede to any suspension of the Minute.
§ The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERI did not state that the late Government gave any authority for suspending the Minute; all I said was, that three months were allowed to the tradesmen to get rid of their stock.
§ MR. CAYLEYasked whether the labels were to state the proportions of chicory and coffee?
§ The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERThe proportions would not be stated on the label. It would be simply in these terms:—"Mixture of chicory and coffee." This would be distinctly and legibly placed on the package.
MR. HASTIEwished to know whether the same privileges were to be extended to persons who sold pepper?
§ The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERI must first understand what the hon. Gentleman means—whether be is anxious to mix chicory with pepper. But, if he asks whether it is intended to allow dealers in pepper to mix rice with it, I should say, certainly not. The plain distinction is this—that the mixture of rice with pepper is an adulteration and a deterioration of the article, but the mixture of chicory with coffee is no adulteration and no deterioration.
§ Subject dropped.