Page:The food of the Gods - A Popular Account of Cocoa.djvu/167

 88 The opportunities of increasing the revenue from the growing favourite were not lost sight of, and till 1820 its spread was checked by a duty of 1s. 6d. a pound, collected by the sale of stamped wrappers for each pound, half-pound, or quarter-pound, "neither more nor less," just as in the case of patent medicines at present.

In the reign of George III. the duty on colonial cocoa was raised to 1s. 10d. a pound, that on such as the East India Company imported to 2s., and that on all other sources of supply to 3s. In the early years of the last century the cocoa imported from any country not a British possession was charged no less than 5s. 10d. a pound as excise, with an extra Custom's duty of from 2½d. to 4¾d. on entry for home consumption. This restrictive tariff was by degrees relaxed, but it is only since 1853 that the duty has been reduced to 2d. a pound on the manufactured article, or 1d. a pound on the raw material.

While the heavy duties were in force, all houses in which the manufacture or sale of cocoa was carried on were compelled to have