§ MR. KELLY (Camberwell, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what the cost of collecting the Excise for the financial year 1884 was, and what that for 1891 was; and what the amounts of Excise Revenue brought in charge in those two years respectively were; and whether, in the year 1884, the officers of Excise received £11,000 for collecting the Agricultural Statistics, and if that amount is still paid to them? I must apologise to the right hon. Gentleman for not being in my place when the question was first called, but I was detained upstairs with Committee work.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Sir JOHN GORST,) ChathamI was about to apologise to the hon. Gentleman for being absent myself. I am unable to separate the cost of collecting the Excise from that of the collection of Inland Revenue generally. The Excise Revenue was £27,306,000 in 1884–5, and, including that paid to the Local Taxation Account, £30,884,000 in 1891–2. The second question has been answered more than once recently, the last answer having been given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 17th inst.
§ MR. KELLYMy object in putting down the question is to ascertain this. In 1884 the amount was3.9, and a sum was charged for agricultural statistics, whereas in 1891 when the amount was 3.26 that sum was not so charged.
§ SIR JOHN GORSTThe hon. Gentleman must give me notice of that question.