Mr. George Damsonwished to put a question to the hon. Gentleman opposite. During the course of the last Session, a Committee had sat upon the question of the drawbacks allowed to the exporters of Irish and Scotch spirits distilled from malt, and the result of this inquiry was, that the Committee stated, that great frauds were practised with respect to those drawbacks, but they came to no decision as to the course that was proper to be adopted, leaving the whole matter in the hands of the Government. He understood, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had proposed a Bill either to do away with the drawback altogether, or to modify it in such a way as to remove the means by which these frauds were now committed. He wanted to know if that was the fact?
§ Mr. Spring Ricewished, that the question had been put in the presence of his noble friend; the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He, however, had no hesitation in saying, that the matter had been under the consideration of the Ministers, and that they would shortly be prepared, to submit a measure to Parliament growing out of the evidence taken before the Committee of last Session.