Reference has already been made to the fact that England stands next to China as the greatest tea-drinking nation; and it appears that the working classes consume the largest proportion of tea imported. Professor Leoni Levi compiled in 1873 an elaborate estimate of the amount of taxation falling on the working classes of the United Kingdom; and in his report he shows that from consumption of tea alone they contributed 2,200,000_l._ to the revenue, as against 900,000_l._ by the middle and upper classes. At the present time, however, the working classes contribute over 3,000,000_l._ as their proportion of the duty upon tea. A clearer light is thrown upon their contributions to the national exchequer by the following table showing the proportion for every pound of taxes paid from each item:-- +---------------------------------++----------------------------------+ | As falling on the Working || As falling on the Middle and | | Classes. || Upper Classes. | +---------------------------------++----------------------------------+ | _s._ _d._ || _s._ _d._ | | Spirits 7 5 || Local taxes, land, | | Malt 3 0 || houses, &c. 7 0 | | Tobacco 3 0 || Stamps 3 3 | | Local taxes and houses 2 9 || Income-tax 3 0 | | Tea 1 5 || Spirits 1 10 | | Sugar 1 0 || Malt 0 9 | | Licences 0 9 || Tobacco 0 9 | | Other taxes 0 8 || Sugar and tea 1 0 | | || Land and houses 0 10 | | || Wine 0 7 | | || Other taxes 1 0 | | -------- || -------- | | Total £1 0 0 || Total £1 0 0 | +---------------------------------++----------------------------------+