Gin Act 1751

Sale of Spirits Act 1750 (1750)
Other legislation
Parliament of Great Britain
Citation	24 Geo. II c. 40
Amended by	Sale of Spirits Act 1862
Repealed by	Administration of Justice Act 1965 (c.2), section 34 and schedule 2.
Status: Repealed

The Sale of Spirits Act 1750 (commonly known as the Gin Act 1751) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 24 Geo. II c. 40) which was enacted in order to reduce the consumption of spirits, a popular pastime^[1] that was regarded as one of the primary causes of crime in London.^[2] By prohibiting gin distillers from selling to unlicensed merchants and increasing fees charged to merchants, it eliminated small gin shops, thereby restricting the distribution of gin to larger distillers and retailers.^[3]

History

First imported from the Netherlands in the 1690s, gin began to rival beer as the most popular drink in England. In 1689, the English government opened the distilling trade to all English people who paid certain taxes. Over the next sixty years, however, the government regulated the sale of gin with an inconsistent taxation policy. The ready availability and low cost of gin led to the a massive rise in consumption known as the Gin Craze; by the 1730s, consumption in London had risen to the equivalent of 2 pints per week per Londoner.

Politicians and religious leaders argued that gin drinking encouraged laziness and criminal behaviour. In 1729, Parliament passed a Gin Act which increased the retail tax to 5 shillings per gallon. With the Gin Act 1736 the government imposed a high licence fee for gin retailers and a 20 shillings retail tax per gallon. These actions were unpopular with the working-classes and resulted in riots in London in 1743. The license fee and tax were lowered significantly within a few years.

The Act

The Gin Act of 1751 prohibited gin distillers from selling to unlicensed merchants, restricted retail licenses to substantial property holders, and charged high fees to those merchants eligible for retail licenses. To offer the masses another invigorating (and non-alcoholic) beverage the import of tea was also encouraged. Also men were encouraged to drink beer.

References

Clark, Peter (1988). "The "Mother Gin" controversy in the early eighteenth century". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 5th ser. 38: 63–84.
Warner, Jessica; Her, Minghao; Gmel, Gerhard; Rehm, Jürgen (2001). "Can Legislation Prevent Debauchery? Mother Gin and Public Health in 18th-Century England" (PDF). American Journal of Public Health 91: 375–84.

United Kingdom legislation

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Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

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Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

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Gin Act 1751

History

The Act

See also

References

Further reading