§ MR. PROVANDI beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland if his attention has been called to the Report by the acting Inspector of the Parochial Board of Barony Parish, Glasgow, in reference to cases of delirium tremens in the asylum and poorhouse in connection with the facilities which exist for obtaining methylated spirits; and if he will inquire into the Regulations under which the sale of methylated spirits is conducted in Glasgow with a view to their revision, and, if found necessary and practicable, transferring control from the Excise to the Police?
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Sir G. TREVELYAN, Glasgow, Bridgeton)The Report of the Acting Inspector of the Barony Parish Parochial Board has been submitted to and referred by me to the Prison Commissioners, who inform me, upon the testimony of their medical officer, that there is only one case amongst those mentioned which would come under the category of "finish" drinking. I am also informed by the Board of Inland Revenue that fresh Regulations were laid down by them in 1891, under which every effort was made to render unpalatable the methylated 1746 spirit capable of being sold by retail; and that, in their opinion, the restrictions cannot be increased, having regard to the requirements of the trade, nor is it practicable to transfer the control of the matter from the Excise to the Police. I may also point out that the subject is at present regulated by one and the same statute law throughout the United Kingdom.