HC Deb 31 March 1882 vol 268 cc477-8
DR. CAMERON

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Whether his attention has been called to the inconvenience suffered by persons in Glasgow requiring forms to be stamped, through the necessity of sending them to Edinburgh, and the great delays which frequently occur through the inability of the Edinburgh office to overtake its work; whether it is a fact that on the 9th of March the Controller of Inland Revenue at Edinburgh advised the Department at Glasgow, that, owing to the demand for penny forms, consequent on the adoption of limited liability by the Scottish banks, large orders for "one penny" forms could not be supplied from Edinburgh in less than three weeks, while by sending them to London or Manchester for stamping they could be obtained in one week; and, whether he will consider the propriety of establishing in Glasgow an independent stamping department?

LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH

I regret to learn that there has been some delay in obtaining the necessary stamped forms in Glasgow. It was due, I am informed, to the adoption of limited liability by the Scotch banks; and, in order to meet it, the assistance of the Stamping Departments in London and Manchester has been called in. This arrangement, it is believed, is approved by the principal persons concerned. The pressure due to temporary causes would not, in my opinion, justify the expense of a Stamping Department at Glasgow, in addition to that at Edinburgh.

DR. CAMERON

Would the noble Lord recommend the Committee to send the press of work to London, or somewhere else, where it could be done, so as to enable the work to be got through?

LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH

That is what I have stated is being done. The work is sent to Manchester and London.