German beer, From 1.9 to 4.62 Cider, ” 5.4 ” 7.4 Ale and porter, ” 5.4 ” 8.5 Very strong ale, ” 10.5 ” 12.4 Moselle and Rhine wines, ” 7.5 ” 9.5 Claret, ” 8.0 ” 9.0 Champagne, ” 11.5 ” 14.1 Sherry, ” 15.4 ” 16.0 Port, ” 15.0 ” 20.7 Madeira, ” 19.0 ” 19.8 Marsala, ” 19.9 ” 20.0 Gin (London), ” 31.73 ... Geneva spirit, ” 49.4 ... Brandy, ” 50.4 ” 53.6 Whisky, ” 59.2 ” 59.4 Rum, ” 72.7 ” 77.1 And proof spirit consists of 49.2 per cent. of alcohol and 50.98 of water. Thus it will be seen that a man might drink without any greater effect ten times as much of the old as he could of the new beverages, and when we come to inquire how much of these were consumed, we shall have no difficulty in understanding what a terrible influence they exercised upon the morals of the age. In the year 1694, with an estimated population of about 5,800,000 souls, the quantity of British spirits upon which duty was charged in England was, according to one author, 810,096 gallons;[280] according to another, 754,300 gallons.[281] (The discrepancy is immaterial for our purpose.) But forty-two years later—in 1736, the _annus mirabilis_ in the history of drink—although the population had only increased to 6,200,000, the consumption of spirits had risen to 6,116,473 gallons, or nearly a gallon per head of the inhabitants. The reason why we have called 1736 the _annus mirabilis_ in the history of drink is because it was on the 29th September of that year that the “Gin Act” came into operation, and the passing of that Act was considered a necessity consequent upon the awful prevalence of drunkenness in all classes of society.