April 30 1924
The tariff imposed by the Free State government on manufactured confectionary is having a serious effect on Derry bakery firms doing a large business in the Free State, particularly in Donegal. The imposition of a duty of 3 3.5d per lb simply means the cessation of all trade in that line across the border.
So hard hit is one large bakery concern that already over 70 of the workers, principally girls, employed in the confectionary side, are being paid off. Three-fourths of the trade of this firm is with merchants in Donegal and other parts of the Free State.
Explaining the effect of the new duty, the head of a large Derry bakery establishment stated that whereas since the creation of the customs barrier only a sliding scale tax was imposed on the declared amount of sugar in a manufactured article, now if only an ounce of sugar was used in a loaf of a ton weight, the duty would have to be paid on the completed article. This involved an absolutely prohibitive tariff.
As an indication of the severity of the tax it may be pointed out that the duty on a 25s barrel of halfpenny biscuits, a popular commodity in Donegal, would be £1. On other brands the duty on a consignment value of £5 would be £4.
Tariffs imposed by the Free State government on sugar-heavy products, while offering a boon to confectionary companies based in the Free State, severely curtailed such companies on the other side of the border.
Sleepy Sickness Outbreak in Belfast
Dr Gardner Robb, the medical superintendent of the fever hospital, in a report to the Belfast Public Health Committee yesterday, stated that there had been a somewhat serious outbreak of sleepy sickness in the city within the past few weeks.
Almost 30 cases had been admitted to the fever hospitals, and four of the victims had died. Many cases had been typical at the outset, some closely resembling cholera.