Account of the Quantities of Malt charged with Duty in Scotland, of the Revenue received thereon, and of the Rates of Duty, in each Year, from 1800. Account of the Quantities of Malt charged with Duty in Ireland, of the Revenue received thereon, and of the Rates of Duty in each Year, from 1800. MALTA, an island in the Mediterranean, belonging to the British, nearly opposite to the southern extremity of Sicily, from which it is about 54 miles distant. Valetta, the capital, is situated on the north coast of the island, the lighthouse in the castle of St. Elmo being in lat. 35° 54′ 6′′ N., lon. 14° 31′ 1′′ E. Malta is about 20 miles long, and 10 or 12 broad. The island of Gozo, about a fourth part of the size of Malta, lies to the north-west of the latter, at about 4 miles' distance; and in the strait between them is the small island of Cumino. In 1856 the population of both islands amounted, excluding the garrison (ex the Maltese regiment), to 142,537; of which that of Gozo might be about 16,000. The entire revenue collected in Malta usually amounts to about 100,000l. a-year, of which about 23,000l. is derived from the rent of lands. Valetta, the capital of the island, is defended by almost impregnable fortifications. "These," says Mr. Brydone, "are indeed most stupendous works. All the boasted catacombs of Rome and Naples are a trifle to the immense excavations that have been made in this little island. The ditches, of a vast size, are all cut out of the solid rock; these extend for a great many miles; and raise our astonishment to think that so small a state has ever been able to make them.”—( Tour through Sicily and Malta, Letter 15.) Since the island came into our possession, the fortifications have been considerably improved; so that at present it is a place of very great strength. After the capture of Rhodes by the Turks, the Emperor Charles V. made a present of Malta to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in whose possession it remained till 1798, when it was taken by the French. It was taken from the latter by the English in 1800; and was definitely ceded to us in 1814. The island consists mostly of a rock, very thinly covered with soil, a good deal of which has been brought, at an immense expense, from Sicily; but being cultivated with the utmost care, it produces excellent fruits, particularly the celebrated Maltese oranges, corn, cotton, with small quantities of indigo, saffron, and sugar. The principal dependence of the inhabitants is on their cotton; the crop of which, amounting to about 4,000,000 lbs. a year, is partly exported raw, and partly manufactured to the value of from 80,000l. to 100,000l. The corn raised in the island is not sufficient to feed the inhabitants for more than 5 or 6 months, and at an average above 100,000 The quarters of foreign wheat are required for their use. In addition to corn, cattle, provisions of all sorts, inc. dried fish, fruits, Spanish peas, &c., are largely imported. other leading articles of import comprise cottons, cotton yarn, linens, woollens, and most sorts of manufactured goods; coal, partly for use in the island, but far more for the supply of the steamers that call here on their voyage to and from Alexandria, Marseilles, &c; gunpowder, and other warlike stores for the use of the garrison; sugar, coffee, and other colonial products; tobacco, oil, wines, timber, &c. The trade in corn used to be monopolised by government; and after the monopoly was abandoned, duties on importation, varying with the price, were imposed. But in 1835, these duties were abolished; and the fixed duties on corn entered for consumption, specified in the subjoined tariff, were substituted in their stead. Malta presents unusual facilities, which have not hitherto been taken proper advantage of, for becoming the entrepôt of the corn trade of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Her warehouses for corn are, like those of Sicily and Barbary, excavated in the rock; and are, perhaps, the best fitted of any in Europe for the safe keeping of corn. The wheat lodged in them may be preserved for an indefinite period; and it is affirmed that though it should, on being deposited, be affected by the weevil, it is very soon freed from that destructive insect. It is not often that corn can be brought direct from Odessa, Taganrog, &c. to England, without the risk of being damaged; but were it brought in the first instance to Malta, and bonded there, it might afterwards be conveyed in the best order to London, or anywhere else. Malta is also admirably well suited for becoming a centre of the corn trade of Egypt, Barbary, Italy, &c. During the late war, particularly during the period when Napoleon's anti-commercial system was in operation, Malta became a great entrepôt for colonial and other goods, which were thence conveyed, according as opportunities offered, to the adjacent ports. This commerce ceased with the circumstances that gave it birth; and for some years after the return of peace, the trade of the island was depressed below its natural level by the imposition of various oppressive discriminating duties. In 1819, this vexatious system was partially obviated; but it continued to exert a pernicious influence till 1837, when, pursuant to the recommendation of Messrs. Austin and Lewis, commissioners of inquiry, the then existing tariffs of customs duties and port charges were wholly abolished; and a new tariff (which is subjoined) was issued in their stead. It imposed moderate duties, for the sake of revenue only, on a few articles in general demand, without regard to the country whence they came, at the same time that it equalised the tonnage duties, and reduced the warehouse rent on articles in bond to the lowest level. There are some good springs of fresh water. Valetta is partly supplied by water brought by an aqueduct a distance of about 6 miles, and partly by the rain collected in cisterns. Harbour. The harbour of Valetta is double, and is one of the finest in the world. The city is built on a narrow tongue of land, having the castle and light of St. Elmo at its extremity and an admirable port on each side. That on the south eastern side, denominated the grand port, is the most frequented. The entrance to it, about 250 fathoms wide, has the formidable batteries of St. Elmo on the one hand, and those of Fort Ricasoli on the other. In entering, it is necessary not to come within 50 or 60 fathoms of the former, on account of a spit which projects from it; but in the rest of the channel there is from 10 to 12 fathoms water. The port, which runs about 12 mile inwards, has deep water and ex cellent anchorage throughout: the largest men of war coming close to the quays. Port Marsamusceit, on the north western side of the city, is also a noble harbour. The entrance to it, which is about the same breadth as that of the grand port, is between St. Elmo and Fort Tiqua. In the centre of the basin is an island, on which are built a castle and a lazaretto, for the convenience of the ships performing quarantine, by which the port is principally used. Owing to the narrowness of the entrance, and the usual variableness of the wind, it is customary for most vessels bound for Valetta to take a pilot on board before entering the harbour. Wheat, per salm Indian corn, per salm Barley, per salm Saggina, per salm. Other inferior grains Manufactured grain, per cantar Wheat, Indian corn, barley, or other inferior grains,if damaged so as to be unfit for the food of man (commonly called frumentazzo), per salm Manufactured grain, if damaged so as to be unfit for the food of man, per cantar Oil, olive, per caffiso Beans, caravances, chick-peas, kid- Carob beans and cotton seeds, per cantar . 10 60 0 1 00 0 2 2 0'0 0 2 .0 2 00 0 0 222 0 2 0'0 0 2 Spirits; viz. for every Maltese barrel of per pipe of 11 Maltese barrels, per 02 2 00 0 2 02 10 11 00 All other wines, per Maltese barrel. 0 2 00 0 2 Observations.-1. The duties payable by the salm on grain, pulse, and seed (except large Sicilian beans) to be charged by the strike measure. The duties on large Sicilian beans and on charcoal to be charged by the heaped measure. 2. Every liquid compounded of spirit and any other ingre dient or ingredients, and containing more than 25 per cent. of spirit of the strength of proof, to be liable to the duty on spirit which is imposed by the present tariff. 3. The store rents on grain lodged in bond to be payable from the day on which the grain was lodged. The store rents on every other article mentioned in the present tariff to be payable from the tenth day after the day on which such article was lodged. TARIFF (B). Tonnage Dues which the Collector of 'Customs is required to levy on the Account of the Government of Malta. Vessels discharging merchandise in the island shall, on clearing outwards, pay for every ton or any part thereof . 6d. 2. Vessels of whatever size, sailing in quarantine, having entered upon the performance thereof, to pay at the above rates, but in no cise more than 2. a day for the remainder of the term of quarantine. 3. Vessels liable to quarantine, not having entered upon the performance thereof, to pay 28. for each day in their con. tinuance in port. 4. Vessels compelled by stress of weither to enter the great harbour, to be subject, while they remain there, to the additional charge of 3. a day, for every guard boat which the Superintendent of Quarantine may deem it necessary to place over them. ***Any vessel in quarantine entering the great harbour without a justitiable cause, incurs the penalty of 200 dollars imposed by the second article of the proclamation, dated 12th October, 1820. (No. xiii.) 5. Vessels having contagious diseases on board to pay an extra rate in proportion to the expense that may be incurred, but in no case to exceed 20s. a day, in addition to the usual An Account of the Quantities and Declared Values of the Principal Articles of British and Irish Produce and Manufacture exported from the U. Kingdom to Malta in each of the 3 Years ending with 1856. We also exported to Malta in 1856 foreign colonial produce to the amount of 75,1764. The value of the imports from Malta during the same year was 215,2027.; but they consisted in great part of foreign articles en entrepôt. The central position, excellent port, and great strength of Malta, make it an admirable naval station for the repair and accommodation of the men-of-war and merchant-ships frequenting the Mediterranean, and render its possession of material importance to the British empire. Since Malta-built vessels were admitted into the ports of the U. Kingdoin on the same terms as those of British-built, the trade of shipbuilding has materially increased in the island. The Maltese shipwrights are diligent expert workmen; and, their wages being moderate, it is a favourable place for careening. Owing to the want of a dry dock, all ships above the size of a sloop of war, that require to have their bottoms examined, have to come to England for that purpose. This, surely, should be obviated. Quarantine is strictly enforced at Malta; but there is every facility for its performance, and the charges are less than at any other port in the Mediterranean. Malta is now the centre of a very extensive steam-packet system; the steamers from England for the Ionian Islands, Constantinople, Alexandria, and other ports of the Levant, touching here. The French steamers from these ports usually perform quarantine at Malta. Money. In 1825, British silver money was introduced into Malta; the Spanish dollar being made legal tender at the rate of 4s. 4d.; the Sicilian dollar at 48. 2d.; and the scudo of Malta at 14. 8d. Weights and Measures. The pound or rottolo, commercial weight = 30 oncle = 12.216 English grains. Hence 100 rottoli (the cantaro) 174) lbs. avoirdupois, or 79-14 kilog. Merchants usually reckon the cantaro at 175 lbs. The salma of corn, stricken measure 8:221 Winchester bushels: heaped measure is reckoned 16 per cent. more. The caffiso, or measure for oil, contains 54 English gallons=20-818 litres. The barrel is double the caffiso. The Maltese foot = 11 1-6th English inches 2836 metres. The canna = 8 palmi 81.9 English inches 2:079 metres. Merchants usually convert Malta measure into English in the proportion of 34 palmi to a yard, or 2 2-7th yards to 1 canna. Bilis on London are usually drawn at 30 and 60 days' sight. The deputy commissary general is obliged to grant, at all times, bills on the treasury here for British silver tendered to him, at the rate of 1007. bill for every 1011. 10. silver, receiving, at the same time, other silver, at a fluctuating rate of exchange. MAN (ISLE OF) is, as every one knows, situated in the Irish Sea, at about an equal distance from England, Scotland, and Ireland. It is about 30 miles long, and 10 or 12 broad. The interior is mountainous, and the soil nowhere very productive. Population, in 1851, 52,387. This island used to be one of the principal stations of the herring fishery; but for a considerable period it has been comparatively deserted by the herring shoals, a circumstance which is not to be regretted; for the fishery, by withdrawing the attention of the inhabitants from agriculture and manufactures, and leading them to engage in what has usually been a gambling and unproductive business, has been, on the whole, injurious to the island. The steam packets from Glasgow to Liverpool, and from the latter to Belfast, touch at the Isle of Man; which is, in consequence, largely frequented by visiters from these cities, and other parts of the empire, whose influx has materially contributed to the improvement of Douglas, the principal port in the island, and other towns. The feudal sovereignty of Man was formerly vested in the Earls of Derby, and more recently in the Dukes of Athol, a circumstance which accounts for the fact of the duties on most commodities consumed in the island having been, for a lengthened period, much lower than those on the same commodities when consumed in Great Britain. This distinction, which still subsists, has produced a great deal of smuggling, and been in no ordinary degree injurious to the revenue and trade of the empire. During the present century, indeed, the clandestine trade of Man has been confined within comparatively narrow limits; but to accomplish this, a considerable extra force of Custom-house officers and revenue cruisers is required; and the intercourse with the island has to be subjected to various restraints. Nothing, as it appears to us, can be more impolitic than the continuance of such a system. The public has, at a very heavy expense, purchased all the feudal rights of the Athol family; and having done so, it is certainly high time that an end were put to the anomalous absurdity of having a considerable island, lying, as it were, in the very centre of the empire, and in the direct line between some of the principal trading towns, with different duties on many important articles! It might be necessary, perhaps, to make some compensation to the inhabitants for such a change, and this might be done, with advantage to them and without expense to the public, by modifying and improving the internal regulations and policy of the island, which are very much in need of amendment. We do not, indeed, imagine that the island would lose any thing by the proposed alteration; for the temptation which the present system holds out to engage in smuggling enterprises diverts the population from the regular pursuits of industry, and, along with the herring lottery, is the principal cause of that idleness for which the Manx are so notorious. The customs revenue col. lected in the Isle of Man in 1852 amounted to 28,0771.; but from this sum 14,3731. was deducted on account of expenses of collection, public works, internal government, &c. We subjoin an abstract of the acts which now (1853) regulate the trade with the Isle of Man: the conditions under which it is carried on have been a good deal simplified. The regulations under which the trade of the Isle of Man is now conducted are embodied in the Acts 16 & 17 Vict. c.106. and the 16 & 17 Vict. c. 107. and are as follows, viz. — Duties in Table to be levied on Goods imported into Isle of Man. In heu of all duties of customs now payable by law upon the importation of goods into the Isle of Man, there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid unto Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, the several duties of Customs as the same are respectively set forth in figures in following table: viz. Cigars 0 1 6 £. . d. 12. Wine the tun of 252 gallons 1200 15. Goods, wares, and merchandise, the growth, Free. Free. Free. Free - 15 0 0 Power to the Treasury to remit and reimpose the Duties on unenumerated Articles. The commissioners of the Treasury may from time to time, by any order or orders under their hands, declare that all or any articles legally importable into the Isle of Man, and not enumerated in the said table, and upon which the said duty of 15 per cent. is hereby imposed, shall and may, from and after any day or days named in such order or orders, be imported from the places and in the manner therein mentioned into the Isle of Man duty free during such time or times as shall be therein named, or until such order or orders respectively, or any of them, shall be rescinded, and such articles shall be imported duty free accordingly so long as any such order or orders, or any of them, shall continue unrescinded; and the said commissioners may at any time, by any order under their hands, revoke the whole or any part of any previous order or orders, or any of them, for such time and in such manner as they may see fit; and all orders of the commissioners of the Treasury made in pursuance of this enactment shall be duly published in the London and Dublin gazettes twice at least within 14 days from the date of such orders respectively, and a copy of every such order shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within 6 weeks after the date of such order if Parliament be then sitting, and if not, then within 6 weeks after the commencement of the then next session of Parliament.-16 & 17 Vict. c. 106. s. 5. The following Treasury order has since appeared. By virtue of the powers vested in us under the 5th section of the Customs Tariff Act, 16 & 17 Vict. cap. 106, to remit and re-impose the duties levied on unenumerated articles legally importable into the Isle of Man, these are to authorise you under the said section of the Customs Tariff Act, to allow all articles enumerated in the tariff of the U. K., and not enumerated in the tariff of the Isle of Man, and which, under the tariff of the island, would be subject to an ad valorem duty of 15 per cent., to be admitted free of duty so long as the order permitting such free importation shall remain unrescinded. For which this shall be your warrant. Whitehall, Treasury Chambers, August 27. 1853. ABERDEEN, JOHN SADLEIR. Isle of Man to be deemed Part of U. K. for the Purposes of this Act. The Isle of Man shall be deemed and taken to be part of the U. K. for all the purposes of this act, but nothing herein contained shall prejudice or affect, or be construed in any way directly or indirectly to prejudice or affect, any of the rights or privileges legally exercised or enjoyed by the said isle at the time of the passing of this act. -16 & 17 Vict. c. 107. §346. Goods delivered out of Charge of Customs in Isle of Man not to be brought into Britain or Ireland. — No foreign goods upon which a higher duty is payable on their importation into Great Britain or Ireland than on their importation into the Isle of Man shall, after the same have been cleared and delivered out of charge of the proper officer of customs for consumption or otherwise in the said isle, be carried or shipped or be waterborne or be brought to any quay, wharf, or other place to be shipped or waterborne to be carried from the said isle into Great Britain or Ireland; nor shall any such goods which may be brought to the said isle, though not cleared and delivered as aforesaid, be removed or carried from thence into Great Britain or Ireland until the same have been duly cleared for that purpose by the proper officer of customs, nor (unless reported for removal in the same ship and in continuation of the voyage to some port in Great Britain or Ireland), until sufficient security by bond or otherwise shall have been given, în such manner, and on such terms and conditions as the Commissioners of Customs may direct, for the due delivery thereof at some port or place in Great Britain or Ireland; and all goods carried, brought, shipped, removed, or waterborne to be shipped, removed, or carried contrary hereto shall be forfeited, and every person who shall carry, ship, bring, remove, or waterbear to be shipped, removed, or carried any goods contrary hereto, or who shall aid or be concerned therein, shall forfeit treble the value of such goods, or the sum of 1007., at the election of the Commissioners of Customs. 347. Goods, the Growth or Manufacture of the Isle of Man, may be imported into Britain or Ireland on Certificate, &c. Any goods, the growth of the Isle of Man, or there manufactured from materials the growth of the said isle, or from materials not subject to duties in Great Britain or Ir-land, or from materials upon which the duty has been paid in Great Britain or Ireland and upon which no drawback has been subsequently granted, may be brought from the said isle into Great Britain or Ireland without payment of any duty: provided always, that such goods may nevertheless be charged with such proportion of such duties as shall fairly countervail any duties of excise payable on the like sort of goods the produce of that part of the U. K. into which they shall be brought, and any articles, either wholly or in part manufactured in the said isle from any materials upon which a higher duty is payable upon their importation into the U. K. than on their importation into the Isle of Man, may be brought from the said isle into Great Britain or Ireland on payment of the duty payable on such goods in that part of the U. K. into which they shall be so brought. § 348. Declaration and Certificate of Growth or Manufacture of Goods from Isle of Man. - Before any goods shall be shipped in the Isle of Man to be carried to Great Britain or Ireland, as the growth or produce of that isle, or as manufactures of that isle from materials the growth and produce thereof, or from materials not subject to duty in Great Britain or Ireland, or from materia's upon which the duties shall have been paid and not drawn back in Great Britain or Ireland, proof shall be made by the written de. claration of some competent person, to the satisfaction of the collector or comptroller of customs at the port of shipment, that such goods (describing and identifying them) are of such growth, produce, or ma nufacture, as the case may be, and in such declaration shall be stated the name of the person by whom |