During the years of 1848 and 49, the Government were not in the habit of selling leaf-tobacco for export, but they have again resumed the practice of 1847, which, however, is likely to be stopped soon again; how soon, it is impossible to say--probably just when the caprice of the director of tobacco inclines him, as he is an influential person, generally, in his own department.
The denominations of cheroots were changed in January, 1848; when the description formerly known as Thirds was and still is called Seconds, and the manufacture of a new sort known as Firsts was begun.
The weights of new cigars when sent out of the factory are as follow:--Firsts 1500, Seconds 3000, Thirds 4000 to the arroba; the weight of the arroba when issued by Government from the factory being actually 1 pound 9 ounces over the current weight,--this allowance being made to meet the loss of weight which cigars always experience during a long sea-voyage, which, although it diminishes their bulk, is said materially to improve their flavour. All cigars for the use of the country-people are made in the Havana shape, and are prohibited being exported, probably from their desire to keep the name of Manilla cheroots up to its proper status, as the Havana-shaped cigars are seldom equal in flavour to those made for exportation.
A large quantity of the Havana-shaped are made and used in the country by smugglers, who sell them at one-half the price charged by the Government, and some of these are occasionally sent from Manilla by stealth. But they are seldom so good as those of the Government make, although that occasionally deteriorates to an alarming degree, so that every now and then very bad cheroots are exported. Of course, when they are smoked and disliked no one uses them, and they become unsaleable, so that when Government finds that there are few or no purchasers, and that their stock is accumulating, they are obliged to use a better class tobacco in their manufacture, upon which people begin to buy from them again. However, this uncertainty as to their _at all times_ producing good cigars, has a most detrimental effect upon themselves, and this alone prevents their consumption from being very much greater than it now is, if one uniformly good quality of tobacco were always used and the bad descriptions sold.