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On the economy of machinery and manufactures / by Charles Babbage
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UPON MANUFACTURES.

275

the parties who approve of the plan in question, aswell as of those who object to it. Instances haveoccurred where the persons paying a tax into thehands of government have themselves objected to anyreduction. This happened in the case of one class ofcalico-printers, whose interest was injured by a removalof the tax on the printing. They received from themanufacturers, payment for the duty, about twomonths before they were called on to repay it togovernment: the consequence was, that a consi-derable capital always remained in their hands. Theevidence which states this circumstance is well cal-culated to promote a reasonable circumspection insuch inquiries.

Do you happen to know any thing of an opposition from calico printers to the repeal of the tax on printed calicoes?

I have certainly heard of such an opposition, and I am not surprised at it. There are a very few individuals who are, in fact, interested in the non-repeal of the tax: there are two classes of calico printers; one, who print their own cloth, send their goods into the market, and sell them on their own account; they frequently advance die duty to government, and pay it in cash before their goods are sold, but generally before the goods are paid for, being most commonly sold on a credit of six months: they are of course interested on that account, as well as on others that have been stated, in the repeal of the tax. The other class of calico printers print the cloth of other people; they print for hire, and on re-delivery of the cloth when printed, they receive the amount of the duty, which they are not called upon to pay to government sooner, on an average, than nine weeks from the stamping of the goods. Where the business is carried on upon a

large scale, the arrears of duty due to government oftenT 2