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.

The rates at which Government sell cigars are fixed, being 14 dollars
per 1000 for Firsts, 8 dollars for Seconds, and 6 3/4 dollars for
Thirds; although, if the purchasers will take off more than the
stocks existing in their warehouses, the prices may be regulated by
the eagerness of th