§ MR. KING (Hull, Central)asked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he is aware that the Resolution with regard to duties on bottled wines having been passed on the 26th of March, the Board of Customs nevertheless afterwards issued a General Order which was forwarded to Hull, dated the 19th of April, 1888, that all still wines in bond on 27th of March, or placed in bond before the 10th of April, which had been described in Customs Warehouse Entries as of a value not exceeding 20s. per dozen quarts, should be admitted at the old rate of duty; by whose authority such Order was issued; whether it was legal for any Department to issue an Order making exceptions in the case of particular goods coming under the Resolution adopted by the House; whether he is aware that the effect of the Order has been that a large quantity of low priced German and French wines has been cleared; and, on what ground the Order was given, and how much wine has been cleared under the Order?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. GOSCHEN) (St. George's, Hanover Square)In reply to the hon. Member's first Question, I have to say that an Order, such as he describes, was issued by the Board of Customs, not limited to Hull, but extending to all other warehousing ports, authorizing the admission, free of the additional Wine Duties levied under the Resolution of the 26th of March last, of still bottled wine which had been imported and bonded between the 27th of March and the 10th of April, and had been described in the Customs warehousing entries as of a value not exceeding 20s. per dozen quarts. The Order was issued on my authority, and according to precedent. It is true that no executive authority has, strictly speaking, a defined right to remit duties which the Legisla- 305 ture says are to be collected; but there must always be, of necessity, an administrative discretion to some extent, on equitable grounds, and such a discretion was exercised in 1845 and in 1870 in relation to the Sugar Duties. Goods imported, and in bond in particular "packages" rendered suddenly liable to a tax because of that package, but capable of being, and which under the tax would be, packed otherwise, have, in extreme cases, some claim in equity to the exercise of such administrative discretion. If the hon. Member will look at Parliamentary Paper No. 281 of 1870 he will find a Treasury Minute issued in a parallel case of administrative discretion applied to the Sugar Duties, with the reasons and precedents for exceptional remission. In reply to his fourth Question, I have to say that there has been no abnormal increase in the quantities of low priced German and French wines cleared. It is estimated that 5,000 dozen bottles have been cleared under this provision.