§ MR. LOUGH (Islington, W.)I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the reason for the change that has been adopted in the table of illicit distillations in the Inland Revenue Report for the year ending 31st March, 1897; how the seizures in Ireland for that year were only two, against 1,388 and 1,107 in the two previous years; what is the difference between these two and the 1,544 seizures referred to in the Note, as made by the Royal Irish Constabulary; whether the rapid increase in seizures by the police, shown by the figures, has led the Inland Revenue authorities to distrust the reliability of the Constabulary Returns; what is the amount of the rewards which the constabulary receive for each seizure; and out of what fund does the money come?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Sir M. HICKS BEACH,) Bristol, W.In the Inland Revenue Reports for the years previous to that ending the 31st March, 1897, no distinction was made between seizures made by the Revenue officers and those made by the Royal Irish Constabulary, but in the Report for that year it was thought better to show them separately. Seizures by the constabulary are made for the same offences as those by the Revenue officers. A reward of £2 is paid for every seizure made by the constabulary, and the money comes out of the Inland Revenue Vote.