§ MR. J. O'CONNOR (Wicklow, W.)I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any penalty has been inflicted upon the large firm of distillers in Belfast who within the last three months were discovered to have altered the Excise permits by writing in ink which was easily removed the number of years for which the whisky had been in bond, and by erasing the number and inserting a larger number after the permit had passed the Excise officials; and whether any steps have been taken to prevent for the future such frauds upon the customers of the firm and the public; and, if so, what steps have been taken?
§ SIR W. HARCOURTThe offence is not correctly described in the question. But an offence has been committed, and a heavy fine has been inflicted. A repetition of the offence has been guarded against for the future.
§ MR. J. O'CONNORWas the sum paid to the Excise by Dunville and Company the maximum which would have been imposed on them had the case gone into a Court of Law?
§ SIR W. HARCOURTThat is a circumstance with which I am not acquainted.
§ MR. SEXTONWas the offence a solitary act or part of a system?
§ SIR W. HARCOURTI really do not know the particulars of the case.
§ MR. J. O'CONNORWhat was the amount of the fine paid by Dunville and Company?
§ SIR W. HARCOURTI have already stated that I do not know.