England’s Drink Bill.

Evening Star, Volume 8505, Issue 8505, 2 May 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

England’s Drink Bill.

Dr Dawson Burns, in a letter to ‘ The Times,’ says :—“ The people of the United Kingdom expended for intoxicating liquors in 1890 the sum of L139,495,470—in round numbers 139| millions sterling. As the population of the United Kingdom was estimated for the middle of 1890 at 38,227,321, the figures show an average expenditure per head of L 3 13s upon intoxicating liquors, or, per family of five persons, of LlB ss. In 1889 the expenditure per head was L 3 9a lid, and per family Ll7 9s 7d. There was an increase of expenditure in 1890 over 1889 —on spirits, of L 2,660,636 -, on beer, of L 3.847.568; on wine, of L773.990—a total increase of L 7,282,194. Comparing the ten years—lß7l-80 and 1881-90—theexpenditure on strong drink in the latter decade was 190,726,087 less than in the prior decade ; but it has to be noted with regret that the expenditure in 1890 was larger than the annual average in 1871-80, and higher than in any year since 1878, when it stood at 142 15 millions. Comparing the expenditure upon alcohol in 1890 with other great national accounts, we find that it was onetwelfth of the estimated Income of all persons in the United Kingdom, and one-fifth of the National Debt, It was between one-fifth and one-fourth of the annual value of all the property and profits on which income tax was levied in the year ending the sth April, 1890. It was L 32,000,000 more than the whole capital of the post office savings banks and ether savings banks in 1880, and fotir and a-half I times the amounts deposited in both kinds of savings banks. It was eleven times the capital of all the industrial and provident societies in the country. It was four a,n<J

a quarter times the gross receipts from passenger traffic on all the railways of the United Kingdom in 1889, and three and ahalf times the gross receipts from their goods traffic, or n 'arly as much again as the receipts from both species of traffic combined.”