In 1658, the Honourable East India Company directed to be “sent home by their ships one hundred pounds weight of the best Tea they could get,” this doubtless being considered a pretty large supply. The company had previously presented to Catherine of Braganza, on her birthday, a chest containing twenty-two pounds--a notable gift commemorated by Waller. In 1671 came the Ty-wan present from the Ruler of Bantam. During the three subsequent years, the company bought of Mr. Thomas Garway and others 562½ lbs. of Tea, which was either given away or consumed by the Court of Committee. From 1675 to 1677, no record exists of either purchases or imports. Hence, it is evident that Tea was not regarded as a source of private revenue at that period. Who could have fancied the marvellous change that a century or two would effect? Who could have thought that the Tea trade was destined to become one of the most important branches of our commerce, and not only so, but to occasion several wars, lead to the extension of our Eastern possessions, and precipitate the great Chinese exodus, which threatens such important results to the Pacific States of America, to Australia, the Polynesian Islands, and possibly to the world at large?
There is nothing in the history of commerce so marvellous as the growth and development of the trade in Tea. In 1675, the importation of this commodity rose to 4,713 lbs. But this enormous quantity manifestly overstocked the market for seven years afterwards. In 1685, the importations amounted to a little over 12,000 lbs. Four years later, 25,000 lbs. arrived, which caused the market to be glutted for a lengthened period, giving rise to considerable depression in that special branch of commerce. About this period the duty was taken off the “made” Tea, and a regular impost of five shillings per pound imposed. During the first twelve years of the eighteenth century, the total quantity of Tea imported was 1,102,070 lbs., showing an average of 91,922½ lbs. This result is the more remarkable as it exceeded the previously unheard of quantity imported in 1700. Yet we find that in the eleven years succeeding, this amount became nearly doubled, probably owing to a reduction of duty to four shillings a pound, in addition to a Customs’ impost of 14 per cent. The Tea trade, still ever augmenting, received a further impetus in 1746, when the duty was reduced to one shilling a pound, the Customs’ duty being fixed at 25 per cent. During the following twelve years the average importation amounted to 2,558,080 lbs. Another period of eight years (1760–67) gives an average of 4,333,267 lbs. Then taking an additional ten years to complete the century, the first really commercial importation of 4713 lbs. in 1778, had grown to an average of 6,948,238 lbs., and this, notwithstanding that besides the 25 per cent. Customs’ duty and the one shilling per pound Excise impost, there had been imposed an additional Excise 30 per cent. Further, in the concluding six years of the century, the Tea importations had further augmented to 21,706,718 lbs., the 91,183 lbs. of 1700 having become a century later upwards of _twenty-five million pounds_.