The Conservatives appear inclined to commence an agitation next session
for ,the repeal of the malt tax. They have an idea that it falls primarily upon the fanner, rather than the beer con- sumer, and are disposed even to make it a test question on the hustiugs. Several meetings have been held this week, notably one at Leicester, where Lord John Manners expressed his readinessto accept a reduction of one-half. The delegates, however, who met on Mon- day at the Bridge House Hotel, voted for "total and immediate" as a much more exciting cry, and resolved to send orders to Sir Fitzroy Kelly to agitate in that sense. The malt tax is always attacked whenever there is a chance of a surplus, but no one ever answers the most important question of all. If the tax is abolished can the revenue obtained from spirits be maintained in the face of the competition of cheap beer ? The difficulty of using malt for food might be met by transferring the duty from the malt to the beer itself, but that would scarcely content the farmers who want to see a greater demand for barley. We fear their proposal will stand little chance against a reduction of the income-tax.
