TABLE 34.-Home-made Beer: Materials used and Beer produced (a).

(d) Presumed quantity based on materials used; there is no information as to actual quantities produced.

(e) Quantities converted into Cwts. @ 336 lbs. 1 Quarter.

Barrels of 36 gallons at any gravity, less 6 per cent. for waste.

Figures for United Kingdom. For later years the figures refer to Great Britain and Northern Ireland only. † For 1922-23 the figures in ordinary type show the revenue collected in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the corresponding dutiable quantities; the figures in italics show the revenue attributable to Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the corresponding dutiable quantity.

(a) Duty altered. (see Table 30.)

(b) Duty increased-see section on Hops.

DUTY ON IMPORTED HOPS.

The Finance Act, 1925, imposed a duty of £4 per cwt. upon imported hops, and a corresponding duty on imported extracts, essences, and similar preparations made from hops, based on the quantity of hops used in their manufacture. A small countervailing duty of 10d. per standard barrel of 1,055 deg. was also imposed on imported beer in order not to handicap the home brewer. Provision was made for drawback on re-exported hops and for a consequential drawback on beer exported. The duty came into force on the 16th August, 1925, and was limited to a period of four years.

This duty was imposed following the discontinuance of the control of hops, which began in 1917 with the Hops (Restriction) Order, under which hop growers were compelled to grub one-half of their acreage under hops without compensation. The control continued during succeeding years, and was finally enacted for a period of five years from 1920 by the Ministry of Food (Continuance) Act, 1920. The control involved the prohibition of imports of hops, except under licence from the Hop Controller.

The Budget estimate of revenue for 1926-27 was £250,000, but the actual receipts were only £174,000. Details for 1925-26 and 1926-27 are given in the table below.

(b) Difference between amounts collected in, and allocated to, the Isle of Man.

WINE DUTIES.

The consumption of wine has been rising continuously since 1921-22. But the rate of increase slackened in 1925-26, when consumption reached 16 million gallons, and the Budget estimate for 1926-27 allowed for only a small further increase to about 16.1 million gallons, yielding a revenue of £3,750,000. The actual clearances in the year amounted to 18.7 million gallons, and the revenue to £4,329,000, thus showing a surplus of £579,000 on the estimate.

It is probable that consumption in 1926-27 increased more than was expected, notwithstanding the industrial disturbances of the year, but the bulk of the surplus was due to heavy forestalments towards the end of the year in anticipation of a change in duty under the 1927 Budget. In consequence of the forestalling operations we were authorised by Your Lordships, under powers conferred by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, as amended by Section 13 of the Finance Act, 1919, to restrict the clearances of wine as from 2nd February, to the 1st May, 1927. But for this action there is no doubt that the clearances in 1926-27 would have reached a much higher figure.

In many of the years besides 1926-27 for which figures are given in the tables below, the clearances of wine do not represent actual consumption, on account of forestalments or postponements prior to the annual Budgets, or the importation of special vintage" wines, as in 1922-23, when vintage ports were shipped. Further, during 1918-19 there was doubtless a considerable replenishment of duty-paid stocks which had been depleted under the restrictions of the war period.

The countries from which imports were consigned are shown in Table 38.

STRENGTH OF WINE IMPORTED.

Table 40 shows the approximate quantities of wine in cask imported at each degree of strength during the calendar year 1926. The table is based on the results of tests which were made primarily for the purpose of classifying the wines under the tariff ratings of (1) not exceeding 30 deg.; (2) exceeding 30 deg. and not exceeding 42 deg.; and (3) exceeding 42 deg.