MR. PATRICK O'BRIENI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in cases where the Excise authorities discover that whisky in bonded stores is deficient either in strength or quantity, the owner of the whisky is required to pay the excess loss to the revenue.
§ MR. HANBURYThe general practice of the Revenue Departments is that if the deficiency arises from leakage, unavoidable accident, or natural causes (such as evaporation from the length of time the spirits have been kept in warehouse), the duty is not chargeable, but, if it is not traceable to any such cause, the trader is called upon to pay the duty on the deficiency.