"Between the trader and the public": British alcohol standards and the proof of good governance

Technology and Culture

Volumn 42, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 27-50

  Ashworth, William J ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035588420     PISSN: 0040165X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (84)

1. Patrick K. O'Brien, "The Political Economy of British Taxation, 1660-1815," Economic History Review 41 (1988): 1-32; John Brewer, The Sinews of Power: War, Money and the English State (London, 1989); J. V. Beckett, "Land Tax or Excise; The Levying of Taxation in Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century England," English Historical Review 100 (1985): 285-308; J. V. Beckett and M. Turner, "Taxation and Economic Growth in Eighteenth-Century England," Economic History Review 43 (1990): 277-303. The "long eighteenth century" refers to the period from 1688 (the "Glorious Revolution") to 1815 (the Battle of Waterloo).
2. Patrick K. O'Brien, "The Political Economy of British Taxation, 1660-1815," Economic History Review 41 (1988): 1-32; John Brewer, The Sinews of Power: War, Money and the English State (London, 1989); J. V. Beckett, "Land Tax or Excise; The Levying of Taxation in Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century England," English Historical Review 100 (1985): 285-308; J. V. Beckett and M. Turner, "Taxation and Economic Growth in Eighteenth-Century England," Economic History Review 43 (1990): 277-303. The "long eighteenth century" refers to the period from 1688 (the "Glorious Revolution") to 1815 (the Battle of Waterloo).
3. Patrick K. O'Brien, "The Political Economy of British Taxation, 1660-1815," Economic History Review 41 (1988): 1-32; John Brewer, The Sinews of Power: War, Money and the English State (London, 1989); J. V. Beckett, "Land Tax or Excise; The Levying of Taxation in Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century England," English Historical Review 100 (1985): 285-308; J. V. Beckett and M. Turner, "Taxation and Economic Growth in Eighteenth-Century England," Economic History Review 43 (1990): 277-303. The "long eighteenth century" refers to the period from 1688 (the "Glorious Revolution") to 1815 (the Battle of Waterloo).
4. Patrick K. O'Brien, "The Political Economy of British Taxation, 1660-1815," Economic History Review 41 (1988): 1-32; John Brewer, The Sinews of Power: War, Money and the English State (London, 1989); J. V. Beckett, "Land Tax or Excise; The Levying of Taxation in Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century England," English Historical Review 100 (1985): 285-308; J. V. Beckett and M. Turner, "Taxation and Economic Growth in Eighteenth-Century England," Economic History Review 43 (1990): 277-303. The "long eighteenth century" refers to the period from 1688 (the "Glorious Revolution") to 1815 (the Battle of Waterloo).
5. W. Speer, An Inquiry into the Causes of the Errors and Irregularities Which Take Place in Ascertaining the Strengths of Spirituous Liquors by the Hydrometer (London, 1802), 45-46. On the diffusion of customary measures in general, see Julian Hoppit, "Reforming Britain's Weights and Measures, 1660-1824," English Historical Review 58 (1993): 82-104, and R. Sheldon, A. Randall, A. Charlesworth, and D. Walsh, "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures: Resistance to the Winchester Bushel in the English West," in Markets, Market Culture and Popular Protest in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland, ed. A. Randall and A. Charlesworth (Liverpool, 1996), 24-45. The politics of weights and measures, particularly from the perspective of the state, is discussed in James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (New Haven, Conn., 1998), 22-33. On the Act of Union and its economic effects, see Frank Geary, "The Act of Union, British-Irish Trade, and Pre-Famine Deindustrialization," Economic History Review 48 (1995): 68-88.
6. W. Speer, An Inquiry into the Causes of the Errors and Irregularities Which Take Place in Ascertaining the Strengths of Spirituous Liquors by the Hydrometer (London, 1802), 45-46. On the diffusion of customary measures in general, see Julian Hoppit, "Reforming Britain's Weights and Measures, 1660-1824," English Historical Review 58 (1993): 82-104, and R. Sheldon, A. Randall, A. Charlesworth, and D. Walsh, "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures: Resistance to the Winchester Bushel in the English West," in Markets, Market Culture and Popular Protest in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland, ed. A. Randall and A. Charlesworth (Liverpool, 1996), 24-45. The politics of weights and measures, particularly from the perspective of the state, is discussed in James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (New Haven, Conn., 1998), 22-33. On the Act of Union and its economic effects, see Frank Geary, "The Act of Union, British-Irish Trade, and Pre-Famine Deindustrialization," Economic History Review 48 (1995): 68-88.
7. W. Speer, An Inquiry into the Causes of the Errors and Irregularities Which Take Place in Ascertaining the Strengths of Spirituous Liquors by the Hydrometer (London, 1802), 45-46. On the diffusion of customary measures in general, see Julian Hoppit, "Reforming Britain's Weights and Measures, 1660-1824," English Historical Review 58 (1993): 82-104, and R. Sheldon, A. Randall, A. Charlesworth, and D. Walsh, "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures: Resistance to the Winchester Bushel in the English West," in Markets, Market Culture and Popular Protest in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland, ed. A. Randall and A. Charlesworth (Liverpool, 1996), 24-45. The politics of weights and measures, particularly from the perspective of the state, is discussed in James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (New Haven, Conn., 1998), 22-33. On the Act of Union and its economic effects, see Frank Geary, "The Act of Union, British-Irish Trade, and Pre-Famine Deindustrialization," Economic History Review 48 (1995): 68-88.
8. W. Speer, An Inquiry into the Causes of the Errors and Irregularities Which Take Place in Ascertaining the Strengths of Spirituous Liquors by the Hydrometer (London, 1802), 45-46. On the diffusion of customary measures in general, see Julian Hoppit, "Reforming Britain's Weights and Measures, 1660-1824," English Historical Review 58 (1993): 82-104, and R. Sheldon, A. Randall, A. Charlesworth, and D. Walsh, "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures: Resistance to the Winchester Bushel in the English West," in Markets, Market Culture and Popular Protest in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland, ed. A. Randall and A. Charlesworth (Liverpool, 1996), 24-45. The politics of weights and measures, particularly from the perspective of the state, is discussed in James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (New Haven, Conn., 1998), 22-33. On the Act of Union and its economic effects, see Frank Geary, "The Act of Union, British-Irish Trade, and Pre-Famine Deindustrialization," Economic History Review 48 (1995): 68-88.
9. W. Speer, An Inquiry into the Causes of the Errors and Irregularities Which Take Place in Ascertaining the Strengths of Spirituous Liquors by the Hydrometer (London, 1802), 45-46. On the diffusion of customary measures in general, see Julian Hoppit, "Reforming Britain's Weights and Measures, 1660-1824," English Historical Review 58 (1993): 82-104, and R. Sheldon, A. Randall, A. Charlesworth, and D. Walsh, "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures: Resistance to the Winchester Bushel in the English West," in Markets, Market Culture and Popular Protest in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland, ed. A. Randall and A. Charlesworth (Liverpool, 1996), 24-45. The politics of weights and measures, particularly from the perspective of the state, is discussed in James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (New Haven, Conn., 1998), 22-33. On the Act of Union and its economic effects, see Frank Geary, "The Act of Union, British-Irish Trade, and Pre-Famine Deindustrialization," Economic History Review 48 (1995): 68-88.
10. On Walpole and the excise, see Beckett, "Land Tax or Excise," and Paul Langford, The Excise Crisis: Society and Politics in the Age of Walpole (Oxford, 1975).
11. On Walpole and the excise, see Beckett, "Land Tax or Excise," and Paul Langford, The Excise Crisis: Society and Politics in the Age of Walpole (Oxford, 1975).
12. Michael Braddick, "Popular Politics and Public Policy: The Excise Riot at Smithfield in February 1647 and Its Aftermath," The Historical Journal 34 (1991): 597-626; Kathleen Wilson, The Sense of the People: Politics, Culture and Imperialism in England 1715-1785 (Oxford, 1995), 117-36.
13. Michael Braddick, "Popular Politics and Public Policy: The Excise Riot at Smithfield in February 1647 and Its Aftermath," The Historical Journal 34 (1991): 597-626; Kathleen Wilson, The Sense of the People: Politics, Culture and Imperialism in England 1715-1785 (Oxford, 1995), 117-36.
14. Steven Shapin, A Social History of Trust: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, 1994), 410.
15. The emphasis on quantification, rules, and instrumentation fits in with Theodore Porter's argument concerning the general emergence of trust in numbers. As he writes: "[T]he drive to supplant personal judgement by quantitative rules reflects weakness and vulnerability. I interpret it as a response to conditions of distrust attending the absence of a secure and autonomous community." See Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, N.J., 1995), xi, 8, 29, 194-96, and 214-23. Judith Grabiner has also illustrated this argument in her study of the complicated and controversial task of gauging eighteenth century casks; see "'Some Disputes of Consequence': Maclaurin Among the Molasses Barrels," Social Studies of Science 28 (1998): 139-68. On "disinterestedness" in technology, see Ken Alder, "Making Things the Same: Representation, Tolerance and the End of the Ancien Regime in France," Social Studies of Science 28 (1998): 499-545.
16. The emphasis on quantification, rules, and instrumentation fits in with Theodore Porter's argument concerning the general emergence of trust in numbers. As he writes: "[T]he drive to supplant personal judgement by quantitative rules reflects weakness and vulnerability. I interpret it as a response to conditions of distrust attending the absence of a secure and autonomous community." See Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, N.J., 1995), xi, 8, 29, 194-96, and 214-23. Judith Grabiner has also illustrated this argument in her study of the complicated and controversial task of gauging eighteenth century casks; see "'Some Disputes of Consequence': Maclaurin Among the Molasses Barrels," Social Studies of Science 28 (1998): 139-68. On "disinterestedness" in technology, see Ken Alder, "Making Things the Same: Representation, Tolerance and the End of the Ancien Regime in France," Social Studies of Science 28 (1998): 499-545.
17. The emphasis on quantification, rules, and instrumentation fits in with Theodore Porter's argument concerning the general emergence of trust in numbers. As he writes: "[T]he drive to supplant personal judgement by quantitative rules reflects weakness and vulnerability. I interpret it as a response to conditions of distrust attending the absence of a secure and autonomous community." See Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, N.J., 1995), xi, 8, 29, 194-96, and 214-23. Judith Grabiner has also illustrated this argument in her study of the complicated and controversial task of gauging eighteenth century casks; see "'Some Disputes of Consequence': Maclaurin Among the Molasses Barrels," Social Studies of Science 28 (1998): 139-68. On "disinterestedness" in technology, see Ken Alder, "Making Things the Same: Representation, Tolerance and the End of the Ancien Regime in France," Social Studies of Science 28 (1998): 499-545.
18. For the general technical and mathematical requirements excise officers were expected to meet, see Brewer (n. 1 above), 101-14. The close connection between metrology, the state, and commerce in the nineteenth century is discussed in Simon Schaffer, "Accurate Measurement is an English Science," in The Values of Precision, ed. M. Norton Wise (Princeton, N.J., 1995), 135-72. On plebeian suspicions about state methods of quantification, see Sheldon et al., "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures." On the difficulties encountered in trying to implement new measures in another nation, see Ken Alder, "A Revolution to Measure: The Political Economy of the Metric System in France," in Wise, 39-71.
19. For the general technical and mathematical requirements excise officers were expected to meet, see Brewer (n. 1 above), 101-14. The close connection between metrology, the state, and commerce in the nineteenth century is discussed in Simon Schaffer, "Accurate Measurement is an English Science," in The Values of Precision, ed. M. Norton Wise (Princeton, N.J., 1995), 135-72. On plebeian suspicions about state methods of quantification, see Sheldon et al., "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures." On the difficulties encountered in trying to implement new measures in another nation, see Ken Alder, "A Revolution to Measure: The Political Economy of the Metric System in France," in Wise, 39-71.
20. For the general technical and mathematical requirements excise officers were expected to meet, see Brewer (n. 1 above), 101-14. The close connection between metrology, the state, and commerce in the nineteenth century is discussed in Simon Schaffer, "Accurate Measurement is an English Science," in The Values of Precision, ed. M. Norton Wise (Princeton, N.J., 1995), 135-72. On plebeian suspicions about state methods of quantification, see Sheldon et al., "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures." On the difficulties encountered in trying to implement new measures in another nation, see Ken Alder, "A Revolution to Measure: The Political Economy of the Metric System in France," in Wise, 39-71.
21. For the general technical and mathematical requirements excise officers were expected to meet, see Brewer (n. 1 above), 101-14. The close connection between metrology, the state, and commerce in the nineteenth century is discussed in Simon Schaffer, "Accurate Measurement is an English Science," in The Values of Precision, ed. M. Norton Wise (Princeton, N.J., 1995), 135-72. On plebeian suspicions about state methods of quantification, see Sheldon et al., "Popular Protest and the Persistence of Customary Corn Measures." On the difficulties encountered in trying to implement new measures in another nation, see Ken Alder, "A Revolution to Measure: The Political Economy of the Metric System in France," in Wise, 39-71.
22. Alder, "Making Things the Same," 528. The internal policing of the Board of Excise by the commissioners is described in Brewer, 101-14.
23. F. G. H. Tate, Alcoholometry: An Account of the British Method of Alcoholic Strength Determination (London, 1930), x; J. Scarisbrick, Hydrometry and Spirit Values (Wolverhampton, 1893), 34-35. There are numerous examples of excisemen gauging how much water to add to brandy to bring it to the level of single brandy; see, for example, Board of Excise to Treasury, 14 December 1711, Public Record Office, London (hereafter PRO), CUST 48/11.
24. F. G. H. Tate, Alcoholometry: An Account of the British Method of Alcoholic Strength Determination (London, 1930), x; J. Scarisbrick, Hydrometry and Spirit Values (Wolverhampton, 1893), 34-35. There are numerous examples of excisemen gauging how much water to add to brandy to bring it to the level of single brandy; see, for example, Board of Excise to Treasury, 14 December 1711, Public Record Office, London (hereafter PRO), CUST 48/11.
25. Peter Clark, "The 'Mother Gin' Controversy in the Early Eighteenth Century," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 38 (1988): 63-84, esp. 64-67; O'Brien (n. 1 above), 13; Beckett and Turner, "Taxation and Economic Growth" (n. 1 above), 394.
26. Peter Clark, "The 'Mother Gin' Controversy in the Early Eighteenth Century," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 38 (1988): 63-84, esp. 64-67; O'Brien (n. 1 above), 13; Beckett and Turner, "Taxation and Economic Growth" (n. 1 above), 394.
27. Peter Clark, "The 'Mother Gin' Controversy in the Early Eighteenth Century," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 38 (1988): 63-84, esp. 64-67; O'Brien (n. 1 above), 13; Beckett and Turner, "Taxation and Economic Growth" (n. 1 above), 394.
28. Tate, xi; W. Hammond and H. Egan, Weighed in the Balance: A History of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (London, 1992) 2; Graham Smith, Something to Declare: One Thousand Years of Customs and Excise (London, 1980), 81.
29. Tate, xi; W. Hammond and H. Egan, Weighed in the Balance: A History of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (London, 1992) 2; Graham Smith, Something to Declare: One Thousand Years of Customs and Excise (London, 1980), 81.
30. Tate, xi; W. Hammond and H. Egan, Weighed in the Balance: A History of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (London, 1992) 2; Graham Smith, Something to Declare: One Thousand Years of Customs and Excise (London, 1980), 81.
31. E. B. McGuire, Irish Whiskey - A History of Distilling: The Spirit Trade and Excise Control in Ireland (Dublin, 1973), 47; Peter Jonas, The Genuine Art of Gauging Made Easy and Familiar (London, 1805), 355; Joshua Bateman, The Excise Officer's Manual, and Improved Practical Gauger (London, 1840), 27.
32. E. B. McGuire, Irish Whiskey - A History of Distilling: The Spirit Trade and Excise Control in Ireland (Dublin, 1973), 47; Peter Jonas, The Genuine Art of Gauging Made Easy and Familiar (London, 1805), 355; Joshua Bateman, The Excise Officer's Manual, and Improved Practical Gauger (London, 1840), 27.
33. E. B. McGuire, Irish Whiskey - A History of Distilling: The Spirit Trade and Excise Control in Ireland (Dublin, 1973), 47; Peter Jonas, The Genuine Art of Gauging Made Easy and Familiar (London, 1805), 355; Joshua Bateman, The Excise Officer's Manual, and Improved Practical Gauger (London, 1840), 27.
34. The early gravity bottle was typically a glass vial that could compare the ratio of the weight of spirit at a given temperature to the weight of an equal volume of water, thereby indicating gravity. The hydrostatic balance suspended a known weight into water or spirit; the loss of weight sustained by the plummet when immersed in the liquid gave its strength. An early flotation instrument, such as that devised by Robert Boyle in 1675, had a long stem attached to two bulbs in which the main bulb was weighted below by the small one. They were so arranged that the instrument would float at the base of its stem in water and at the top for the highest known spirit. See Tate, xii-xiv.
35. Clarke is quoted in Tate, xiv-xv; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 36 (1730), 277.
36. On Desaguliers, patronage, and the York Building Company, see Larry Stewart, The Rise of Public Science: Rhetoric, Technology and Natural Philosophy in Newtonian Britain, 1660-1750 (Cambridge, 1992).
37. See Jonas, 367-69 and 374, and Tate (n. 9 above), vi-xcii. Clarke claimed that if the liquor was a "fair merchantable proof" the instrument would rise or float so high that the crown engraved on either side of the spindle or index would appear near the surface. But if the liquor was overproof the hydrometer would not rise at all, or at least not to the crown as before. If the instrument either rose or floated out of the liquor so that not only the index but even parts of the base appeared above the surface, "as broad as a silver threepence or groat etc.," then the spirit was considerably underproof. See Tate, xv-xvi.
38. See Jonas, 367-69 and 374, and Tate (n. 9 above), vi-xcii. Clarke claimed that if the liquor was a "fair merchantable proof" the instrument would rise or float so high that the crown engraved on either side of the spindle or index would appear near the surface. But if the liquor was overproof the hydrometer would not rise at all, or at least not to the crown as before. If the instrument either rose or floated out of the liquor so that not only the index but even parts of the base appeared above the surface, "as broad as a silver threepence or groat etc.," then the spirit was considerably underproof. See Tate, xv-xvi.
39. See Jonas, 367-69 and 374, and Tate (n. 9 above), vi-xcii. Clarke claimed that if the liquor was a "fair merchantable proof" the instrument would rise or float so high that the crown engraved on either side of the spindle or index would appear near the surface. But if the liquor was overproof the hydrometer would not rise at all, or at least not to the crown as before. If the instrument either rose or floated out of the liquor so that not only the index but even parts of the base appeared above the surface, "as broad as a silver threepence or groat etc.," then the spirit was considerably underproof. See Tate, xv-xvi.
40. I am grateful to Dr. Anita McConnell for this information. See also Tate, xviii.
41. Peter Mathias, The Brewing Industry in England, 1700-1830 (Cambridge, 1959), 68-69; T. G. Smith, "Bartholomew Sikes and the Selection of His Hydrometer for Official Use," 1977, HM Customs and Excise, Records Management Services, Salford, Ref. 25000/255. Martin is quoted in Scarisbrick (n. 9 above), 32.
42. Peter Mathias, The Brewing Industry in England, 1700-1830 (Cambridge, 1959), 68-69; T. G. Smith, "Bartholomew Sikes and the Selection of His Hydrometer for Official Use," 1977, HM Customs and Excise, Records Management Services, Salford, Ref. 25000/255. Martin is quoted in Scarisbrick (n. 9 above), 32.
43. The King vs. Steele and others, 4 December 1781, PRO, CUST 103/3, 240-41.
44. Stephen Dowell, A History of Taxation and Taxes in England, 3rd ed. (London, 1965), 2:172.
45. The King vs. Steele and others, 354-56.
46. Ibid., 362-63.
47. Ibid., 272-74.
48. Ibid., 274-75.
49. For the testimony of Jones and Stacey, as well as other defense witnesses, see The King vs. Steele and others, 452-60. Over the course of the eighteenth century the issue of diverse containers, weights, and measures also increasingly became an arena of social conflict. Peter Linebaugh has brought this sharply into focus in his examination of eighteenth-century criminal law and trade in tobacco; see The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century (Harmondsworth, 1993) 162-63.
50. For the testimony of Jones and Stacey, as well as other defense witnesses, see The King vs. Steele and others, 452-60. Over the course of the eighteenth century the issue of diverse containers, weights, and measures also increasingly became an arena of social conflict. Peter Linebaugh has brought this sharply into focus in his examination of eighteenth-century criminal law and trade in tobacco; see The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century (Harmondsworth, 1993) 162-63.
51. The King vs. Steele and others, 428-29.
52. Ibid., 461.
53. On the growing importance of quantification in the mechanics of state bureaucracy, see Brewer (n. 1 above); T. Frangsmyr, J. L. Heilbron, and R. E. Rider, eds., The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century (Berkeley, 1990); Wise (n. 7 above); Porter (n. 6 above).
54. On the growing importance of quantification in the mechanics of state bureaucracy, see Brewer (n. 1 above); T. Frangsmyr, J. L. Heilbron, and R. E. Rider, eds., The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century (Berkeley, 1990); Wise (n. 7 above); Porter (n. 6 above).
55. On the growing importance of quantification in the mechanics of state bureaucracy, see Brewer (n. 1 above); T. Frangsmyr, J. L. Heilbron, and R. E. Rider, eds., The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century (Berkeley, 1990); Wise (n. 7 above); Porter (n. 6 above).
56. On the growing importance of quantification in the mechanics of state bureaucracy, see Brewer (n. 1 above); T. Frangsmyr, J. L. Heilbron, and R. E. Rider, eds., The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century (Berkeley, 1990); Wise (n. 7 above); Porter (n. 6 above).
57. 27 Geo. III, c. 31: "All spirits shall be deemed and taken to be of the degree of strength at which the said Hydrometer, called Clarke's Hydrometer, shall, upon Trial by any Officer or Officers of Excise, denote any such Spirits to be." There were, in fact, two types of Clarke's hydrometer, one for trying imported spirits and one for domestically produced spirits. The makers of the hydrometer, Dring and Fage, had to continually regulate each hydrometer to ensure that it corresponded to the export or import standard defined by government. To help fight the growing market for counterfeit Clarke hydrometers, the lower stem of the official hydrometer retained the following details: the word "Clarke," his mark (the half moon and dagger), the word "import" or "export," and the number of instruments so far made. Jessie Ramsden, An Account of Experiments, to Determine the Specific Gravity's of Fluids, Thereby to Obtain the Strength of Spirituous Liquors (London, 1792).
58. Tate describes the pyknometer as "a spherical vessel of thin glass 2.8 inches in diameter, flattened slightly at the base and furnished with a neck made from barometer tube, the bore of which was 0.25 inch in diameter. This neck was 1 1/2 inches long and was marked with a fine circle about 3/4 inch above the globular portion of the apparatus. During weighing a small silver cap was placed on the top of the neck to prevent evaporation. The capacity of the pyknometer was 2965 fluid grains at 60° F." See Tate (n. 9 above), 2.
59. The reports are summarized in Tate, 1-3, 10.
60. Speer (n. 2 above), i.
61. Ibid., 11. In addition, the weather weights used in Clarke's hydrometer were far too broad and unable to handle temperature differences of 4 to 5 degrees. For example, if a ship picked up brandy from Ireland with a hydrometer reading of, say, 9.5 percent over hydrometer proof at 55° F, it was quite common that during the voyage its temperature would rise to, say, 60° F. Yet the same weather weight would be used on landing in London, and the brandy would appear to be 1.5 percent stronger than when first loaded in Ireland - that is, it would now appear to be 11 percent overproof and thus required to pay extra duty. Speer claimed he had numerous examples of merchants making such complaints. Equally problematic was the fact that the instrument had been constructed to assume that the effect of temperature was the same in strong as in weak spirits; see Speer, 16-19,44.
62. Ibid., 11. In addition, the weather weights used in Clarke's hydrometer were far too broad and unable to handle temperature differences of 4 to 5 degrees. For example, if a ship picked up brandy from Ireland with a hydrometer reading of, say, 9.5 percent over hydrometer proof at 55° F, it was quite common that during the voyage its temperature would rise to, say, 60° F. Yet the same weather weight would be used on landing in London, and the brandy would appear to be 1.5 percent stronger than when first loaded in Ireland - that is, it would now appear to be 11 percent overproof and thus required to pay extra duty. Speer claimed he had numerous examples of merchants making such complaints. Equally problematic was the fact that the instrument had been constructed to assume that the effect of temperature was the same in strong as in weak spirits; see Speer, 16-19,44.
63. Speer, 47, 10.
64. Ibid., 19.
65. For the distillers' petitions, see Scarisbrick (n. 9 above), 39-40.
66. 42 Geo. III, c. 97, "An act to authorise the Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of the Treasury in Great Britain, and the Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of the Treasury in Ireland, to order the use of the Hydrometers now employed in the Management of the Revenues, to be discontinued, and other instruments to be used thereof." Vansitart to the Commissioners of Excise, quoted in Tate (n. 9 above), 4.
67. T. G. Smith (n. 18 above); Tate, 5.; London Gazette, 25 August 1802, advertisement.
68. T. G. Smith (n. 18 above); Tate, 5.; London Gazette, 25 August 1802, advertisement.
69. T. G. Smith (n. 18 above); Tate, 5.; London Gazette, 25 August 1802, advertisement.
70. "Sketch of a Report to be Laid before the Honourable Board of Excise respecting Hydrometers," April 1803, Bartholomew Sikes Papers, HM Customs and Excise, Records Management Services, Salford (hereafter cited as Sikes Papers). These papers are waiting to be deposited at the Public Records Office. I thank Ian Wright and Trevor Jones for bringing them to my attention. On Sikes's conversion tables, see Tate, 29-30, 34-35. On the growing importance and appeal of calculating tables in commerce, finance, manufactures, and science during this period, see William J. Ashworth, "The Calculating Eye: Baily, Herschel, Babbage and the Business of Astronomy," British Journal for the History of Science 27 (1994): 409-41, and "'System of terror': Samuel Bentham, Accountability and Dockyard Reform During the Napoleonic Wars," Social History 23 (1998): 63-79.
71. "Sketch of a Report to be Laid before the Honourable Board of Excise respecting Hydrometers," April 1803, Bartholomew Sikes Papers, HM Customs and Excise, Records Management Services, Salford (hereafter cited as Sikes Papers). These papers are waiting to be deposited at the Public Records Office. I thank Ian Wright and Trevor Jones for bringing them to my attention. On Sikes's conversion tables, see Tate, 29-30, 34-35. On the growing importance and appeal of calculating tables in commerce, finance, manufactures, and science during this period, see William J. Ashworth, "The Calculating Eye: Baily, Herschel, Babbage and the Business of Astronomy," British Journal for the History of Science 27 (1994): 409-41, and "'System of terror': Samuel Bentham, Accountability and Dockyard Reform During the Napoleonic Wars," Social History 23 (1998): 63-79.
72. "Sketch of a Report to be Laid before the Honourable Board of Excise respecting Hydrometers," April 1803, Bartholomew Sikes Papers, HM Customs and Excise, Records Management Services, Salford (hereafter cited as Sikes Papers). These papers are waiting to be deposited at the Public Records Office. I thank Ian Wright and Trevor Jones for bringing them to my attention. On Sikes's conversion tables, see Tate, 29-30, 34-35. On the growing importance and appeal of calculating tables in commerce, finance, manufactures, and science during this period, see William J. Ashworth, "The Calculating Eye: Baily, Herschel, Babbage and the Business of Astronomy," British Journal for the History of Science 27 (1994): 409-41, and "'System of terror': Samuel Bentham, Accountability and Dockyard Reform During the Napoleonic Wars," Social History 23 (1998): 63-79.
73. Ramsden (n. 29 above), 25; Scarisbrick, 69.
74. Ramsden (n. 29 above), 25; Scarisbrick, 69.
75. Sikes to the Commissioners of Excise, 23 August 1803, Sikes Papers. It seems that he may have been under pressure from Groves at the Board of Excise to consider reducing the number of weights, for he wrote on 6 August 1803 that Groves had "expressed strongly his opinion that the number of weights in Sikes's instrument should be reduced, if possible," and at this point he approved of the idea. However, a few days later Sikes claimed that Wollaston "says he cannot but prefer the original Construction with nine Weights, as having a greater Sensibility for discriminating minute Differences of Strength; and it being the original Instrument which he and Professor Farish reported to, as being the most correct of the instruments examined by them." Farish certainly did not think the number of weights should be reduced; to the contrary, he thought that accuracy had already been diluted enough in relation to practicability. However, as an exciseman Sikes clearly felt there was room to bend this imperative in order to aid practical everyday use. Indeed, he was confident that his instrument with four weights would be just as good as the original model with nine, "only a little less sensible for discriminating very minute Differences of Strength by Reason of a thicker Stem and shorter Division of it." Sikes's arguments were to no avail, and three days later the commissioners of excise opted to take Wollaston's and Farish's advice and stick with the original nine weights. Wollaston to the Commissioners of Excise, 6 and 9 August 1803, and Sikes to the Commissioners of Excise, 23 August 1803, Sikes Papers.
76. A. M. Bate to the Commissioners of Excise, 5 September 1806 and 6 September 1806, Sikes Papers. On Robert Bate, see Anita McConnell, R. B. Bate of the Poultry, 1782-1847: The Life and Times of a Scientific Instrument Maker (London, 1993).
77. Mary Sikes to Mr. Burton, Secretary to the Board of Excise, 22 December 1806 and 15 January 1807, and Wollaston to the Commissioners of Excise, 17 February and 9 September 1807, Sikes Papers.
78. Wollaston to the Commissioners of Excise, 9 September 1807, Sikes Papers.
79. T. G. Smith (n. 18 above).
80. 58 Geo. III, c. 28.
81. Frederick Accum, A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons (London, 1820), 275.
82. Tate (n. 9 above), 53, 54.
83. 6 Geo. IV, c. 80, paras. 2, 72, 91.
84. This is one of the central themes of my book Consuming the People: Trade, Production and the English Customs and Excise, 1643-1842 (forthcoming).