§ COLONEL NOLANasked the Secretary to the Treasury, If, in the month of March, ships in Galway dock are only allowed to discharge between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. just six hours shorter than between sunrise and sunset (5.37–6.31); if, on Easter Monday and other days during which every vessel discharges, the Custom House officials, for their own individual profit, are allowed to levy rates, sometimes exceeding a shilling a ton, even on non-excisable articles; and, if it is a fact that for very many years no smuggling of any kind has been carried on in the port of Galway, and shipowners discharging there are not entitled to work free of cost between sunrise and sunset?
§ MR. HIBBERTShips in Galway Docks are in March allowed to discharge free goods from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. If they discharge before or after these hours, the officers are entitled to payments for overtime on a scale fixed by the Board of Customs. On Easter Monday and other statutory holidays the officers are entitled to receive payment from the merchant for attendance; but on no occasion of any kind are they allowed to levy any charge on goods landed, except the statutory duties. For some years previous to 1884 no smuggling had been detected at Galway; but in that year five seizures were made.