§
Resolution, reported—
That the additional Excise duty on spirits, imposed by section seven of the Finance Act, 1900, shall continue to be charged until the first day of August, nineteen, hundred and two.
§ Resolution read a second time.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution."
§ MR. FLYNN (Cork, N.)said that the Irish Members were not at all satisfied with the reply of the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to the temporary duty on spirits being continued for at least another year. They considered that that was a breach of faith, and that an important Irish industry was being unfairly handicapped by the perpetuation of the duty. They had that night an example of the manner in which British and Welsh members could protest against a tax which in their opinion unfairly handicapped a trade in which they were interested, and on behalf of a great Irish industry he ventured to repeat the protest which was made at an earlier stage of the Budget, and to express the hope that if the tax were to be continued for another year they would obtain an assurance that it would not be continued definitely. It would be the duty of the Nationalist Members to protest on every possible occasion against the continuation of this tax, and they would therefore divide the House upon the Resolution.
§ MR. J. P. FARRELL (Longford, N.)desired to support the appeal of the hon. Member for North Cork. Strict teetotallers might think it a good thing that this tax should be continued, but as the industry was in such a condition, that even, the small imposition of 6d. per gallon tended to cripple it, he strongly urged the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider the advisability of remitting this burden, or, at any rate, to give the House some indication of the future intentions of the Government in regard to the matter.
§ MR. MCDERMOTT (Kilkenny, N.)asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider the advisability of preventing distillers, wine merchants, and the trade generally, from taking whisky out of bond before it was three years old. Irish whisky had been under a cloud for some time because it had not received fair play. The Inland Revenue authorities allowed whisky to be taken out of bond before it was even a year old, and that whisky, when put upon the market, was unfit for consumption. The sale of this immature liquor was ruining the Irish whisky trade, and in the interests of one of the few industires remaining to Ireland some such precaution as had been suggested should be taken.
§ MR. TULLY (Leitrim, S.)I thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer should give the House some definite assurance with regard to the duration of this whisky tax. The amount of duty at present was very excessive. Out of 72s. worth of beer a man paid 8s. in taxes, while out of 72s. worth of whisky the taxes amounted to 27s. 9d. Therefore, the English workman who shouted for the war when he spent 1s. on beer paid only 1¼d. in the tax, whereas the Irishman who protested against the war, if he
§ spent 1s. on whisky, paid 5d. in the tax. Such a condition of things could not be justified. The effect of raising the tax had been to drive good Irish whisky off the English market, and to introduce the vile stuff from Germany made from potato spirit and sawdust.
§ *SIR M. HICKS BEACHwas understood to say that in consequence of the form of the Resolution imposing this tax the question would in any case come before the House next year, and hon. Members, if satisfied that the conditions of public finance did not require its continuance, would be able to raise objection to it. He pointed out that last year he did not make a definite promise to remit the duty this year. What he said when the additional duty was imposed was that he hoped to be able to repeal it this year, but, unfortunately, as everybody was aware, that hope had not been realised.
§ MR. McDERMOTTWhat about the whisky in bond for three years?
§ *SIR M. HICKS BEACHThat is a question which I cannot answer at this moment.
§ Question put.
§ The House divided: Ayes, 230; Noes, 58. (Division List No. 167.)
559| AYES. | ||
| Acland-Hood, Capt.SirAlexF. | Cecil, Evelyn (Aston Manor) | Fisher, William Hayes |
| Agg-Gardner, James Tynte | Cecil, Lord Hugh (Greenwich) | Fitzroy, Hon. Edw. Algernon |
| Agnew, Sir Andrew Noel | Chamberlain,Rt.Hon.J.(Birm | Fletcher, Sir Henry |
| Allhusen, Augustus H. Eden | Chamberlain, J. A. (Worc'r.) | Flower, Ernest |
| Archdale, Edward Mervyn | Channing, Francis Allston | Foster, Sir Walter (DerbyCo.) |
| Arkwright, John Stanhope | Chaplin, Rt. Hon. Henry | Gibbs, Hon. Vicary (St. Albans |
| Arnold-Forster, Hugh O. | Chapman, Edward | Goddard, Daniel Ford |
| Arrol, Sir William | Churchill, Winston Spencer | Godson, Sir Augustus Frederick |
| Ashmead-Bartlett, Sir Ellis | Cochrane, Hon. T. H. A. E. | Gordon, Hn. J. E.(Elgin&Nairn |
| Atkinson, Rt. Hon. John | Coghill, Douglas Harry | Gordon, J. (Londonderry, S.) |
| Bagot, Capt. Josceline Fitzroy | Collings, Rt. Hon. Jesse | Gordon, Maj Evans- (T'rH'lets |
| Bailey, James (Walworth) | Cook, Sir Frederick Lucas | Goulding, Edward Alfred |
| Bain, Colonel James Robert | Cox, Irwin Edward Bainbridge | Gray, Ernest (West Ham) |
| Balcarres, Lord | Cranborne, Viscount | Green, Walford D. (Wednesb'ry |
| Baldwin, Alfred | Cust, Henry John C. | Greene, Henry D. (Shrewsbury) |
| Balfour,Rt. Hn.A.J.(Manch'r) | Dalrymple, Sir Charles | Greene, W.Raymond-(Cambs.) |
| Balfour, Capt. C. B. (Hornsey) | Dalziel, James Henry | Greville, Hon. Ronald |
| Balfour, Rt Hn Gerald W (Leeds | Davies, Sir Horatio D. (Chath'm | Grey, Sir Edward (Berwick) |
| Banbury, Frederick George | Digby, John K. D. Wingfield- | Groves, James Grimble |
| Beach, Rt. Hn. Sir M.H.(Bristol) | Disraeli, Coningsby Ralph | Guest, Hon. Ivor Churchill |
| Beaumont, Wentworth C. B. | Dorington, Sir John Edward | Gurdon, Sir W. Brampton |
| Beckett, Ernest William | Doughty, George | Guthrie, Walter Murray |
| Bentinck, Lord Henry C. | Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers- | Hamilton, Rt Hn Lord G. (Mid'x |
| Bill, Charles | Doxford, Sir William Theodore | Hamilton, Marq. of (Lond'nd'ry |
| Blundell, Col. Henry | Duke, Henry Edward | Hanbury, Rt. Hon. Robert Wm. |
| Bond, Edward | Durning-Lawrence, Sir Edwin | Hardy, Laurence (Kent, Ashf'd |
| Brassey, Albert | Dyke, Rt. Hon. Sir Wm. Hart | Harris, Frederick Leverton |
| Brodrick, Rt. Hon. St. John | Egerton, Hon. A. de Tatton | Haslam, Sir Alfred S. |
| Bull, William James | Evrns, Samuel T. (Glamorgan) | Haslett, Sir James Horner |
| Bullard, Sir Harry | Faber, George Denison | Hay, Hon. Claude George |
| Caldwell, James | Fellowes, Hon. Ailwyn Edw. | Hayne, Rt. Hon. Chas. Seale- |
| Carson, Rt. Hon. Sir Edw. H. | Fielden, Edward Brocklehurst | Heath, Arthur Howard (Hanley |
| Cautley, Henry Strother | Finch, George H. | Heath, James (Staffords. N. W.) |
| Cavendish, V. C. W. (Derbyshire | Finlay, Sir Robert Bannatyne | Helder, Augustus |
| Helme, Norval Watson | Milward, Colonel Victor | Sackville, Col. S. G. Stopford- |
| Henderson, Alexander | Molesworth, Sir Lewis | Sadler, Col. Samuel Alexander |
| Hickman, Sir Alfred | Montagu, G. (Huntingdon) | Sassoon, Sir Edward Albert |
| Higginbottom, S. W. | Moore, William (Antrim, N.) | Scott, Chas. Prestwich (Leigh) |
| Hoare, Sir Samuel (Norwich) | More, Robt. Jasper (Shropshire | Scott, Sir S. (Marylebone, W. |
| Hobhouse, C. E. H. (Bristol, E.) | Morgan, Dvd. J. (Walthamstow | Seton-Karr, Henry |
| Hobhouse, Henry (Somerset, E. | Morgan, Hn Fred. (Monm'thsh. | Sharpe, Wm. Edward T. |
| Hope, J. F. (Sheffield, Briyhtside | Morrell, George Herbert | Smith, Abel H. (Hertford, East) |
| Hope, John Deans (Fife, W.) | Moss, Samuel | Smith, H. C. (North, Tyneside) |
| Hornby, Sir William Henry | Mount, William Arthur | Smith, Hn. W. F. D. (Strand) |
| Johnston, William (Belfast) | Muntz, Philip A. | Spear, John Ward |
| Jones, Wm. (Carnarvonshire) | Murray, Rt. Hon. A. G. (Bute | Stanley, Hn. Arthur (Ormskirk) |
| Kenyon, Hon. Geo. T. (Denbigh | Nicholson, William Graham | Stanley, Lord (Lancs.) |
| Kenyon, James (Lancs., Bury) | Nicol, Donald Ninian | Stock, James Henry |
| Kenyon-Slaney, Col. W. (Salop. | O'Neill, Hon. Robert Torrens | Stroyan, John |
| Keswick, William | Orr-Ewing, Charles Lindsay | Sturt, Hon. Humphry Napier |
| Knowles, Lees | Palmer, Walter (Salisbury) | Talbot, Lord E. (Chichester) |
| Lawson, John Grant | Parkes, Ebenezer | Talbot, Rt. Hn. J. G. (Oxf'd Univ. |
| Layland-Barratt, Francis | Partington, Oswald | Thomas, Abel (Carmarthen, E.) |
| Lee, A. H. (Hants, Fareham) | Pearson, Sir Weetman D. | Thomas, David Alfred (Merthyr |
| Lees, Sir Elliott (Birkenhead) | Pemberton, John S. G. | Thomas, JA (Glamorgan, Gower |
| Legge, Col. Hon. Heneage | Percy, Earl | Thornton, Percy M. |
| Leigh, Sir Joseph | Plummer, Walter R. | Tomlinson, Wm. Edw. Murray |
| Leigh-Bennett, Henry C. | Powell, Sir Francis Sharp | Ure, Alexander |
| Leveson-Gower, Frederick N.S | Pretyman, Ernest George | Valentia, Viscount |
| Levy, Maurice | Price, Robert John | Walton, Joseph (Barnsley) |
| Lockwood, Lt.-Col. A. R. | Pryce-Jones, Lt.-Col. Edward | Warde, Colonel C. E. |
| Long, Rt. Hn. W. (Bristol, S.) | Purvis,-Robert | Wason, John Cathcart (Orkney) |
| Lonsdale, John Brownlee | Randles, John S. | Welby, Sir Chas. G. E. (Notts.) |
| Lowther, C. (Cumb., Eskdale) | Ratcliffe, R. F. | White, Luke (York, E. R.) |
| Loyd, Archie Kirkman | Rea, Russell | Whiteley, H. (Ashton-u.-Lyne) |
| Lucas, Col. Francis (Lowestoft) | Reid, James (Greenock) | Williams, Osmond (Merioneth) |
| Lucas, Reginald J. (Portsmouth | Rentoul, James Alexander | Williams, Colonel R. (Dorset) |
| Lyttleton, Hon. Alfred | Richards, Henry Charles | Willox, Sir John Archibald |
| Macartney, Rt. Hn. W. G. E. | Ridley, Hon M. W. (Stalybridge | Wilson, A. Stanley (York, E.R.) |
| Macdona, John Cumming | Rigg, Richard | Wilson, J. W. (Worcestersh., N. |
| Maconochie, A. W. | Ritchie, Rt. Hon Chas. Thomson | Wrightson, Sir Thomas |
| M'Arthur, Charles (Liverpool) | Roberts, John Bryn (Eifion) | Wylie, Alexander |
| M'Crae, George | Robertson, Herbert (Hackney | Wyndham, Rt. Hon. George |
| M'Killop, James (Stirlingshire | Robinson, Brooke | |
| Malcolm, Ian | Roe, Sir Thomas | TELLERS FOR THE AYES— |
| Manners, Lord Cecil | Rolleston, Sir John F. L. | Sir William Walrond and |
| Martin, Richard Biddulph | Round, James | Mr. Anstruther. |
| Maxwell, W. J. H. (Dumfriessh. | Rutherford, John | |
| NOES. | ||
| Barry, E. (Cork, S.) | Hayden, John Patrick | O'Brien, P. J. (Tipperary, N.) |
| Boland, John | Jordan, Jeremiah | O'Connor, T. P. (Liverpool) |
| Boyle, James | Joyce, Michael | O'Doherty, William |
| Burke, E. Haviland- | Kennedy, Patrick James | O'Donnell, T. (Kerry, W.) |
| Campbell, John (Armagh, S.) | Leamy, Edmund | O'Dowd, John |
| Clancy, John Joseph | Lundon, W. | O'Kelly, Conor (Mayo, N.) |
| Cogan, Denis J. | MacDonnell, Dr. Mark A. | O'Shee, James John |
| Condon, Thomas Joseph | MacNeill, John Gordon Swift | Power, Patrick Joseph |
| Crean, Eugene | M'Cann, James | Reddy, M. |
| Cullinan, J. | M'Dermott, Patrick | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) |
| Delany, William | M'Fadden, Edward | Redmond, William (Clare) |
| Dillon, John | M'Govern, T. | Roche, John |
| Doogan, P. C. | Minch, Matthew | Sullivan, Donal |
| Duffy, Wm. J. | Mooney, John J. | Thompson, E. C. (Monaghan, N. |
| Farrell, James Patrick | Morton, Edw. J. C. (Devonport) | Tully, Jasper |
| Ffrench, Peter | Murnaghan, George | Young, Samuel (Cavan, East) |
| Field, William | Murphy, J. | |
| Flavin, Michael Joseph | Nolan, Col. John P. (Galway, N. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES— |
| Flynn, James Christopher | Nolan, Joseph (Louth, South) | Sir Thomas Esmonde and |
| Gilhooly, James | O'Brien, K. (Tipperary, Mid) | Captain Donelan. |
| Hammond, John | O'Brien, Patrick (Kilkenny) |
§ Ordered, That it be an Instruction to the Gentlemen appointed to bring in a Bill upon the Resolutions reported from the Committee of Ways and Means on the 29th day of this instant April, and 560 then agreed to by the House, that they do make provision therein pursuant to the said Resolution.—(Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer.)
§ Adjourned at half after Twelve of the clock.