§ I have little more to say with regard to Customs revenue. Some people are fond of suggesting to me, and I have even had such suggestions from Members of this House, that I might raise a great revenue by increasing the wine duties upon such articles as champagne. [Opposition cries of "Hear, hear!"] I see that that opinion is held at the present moment. The wine duties produced £38,000 less than in the year before, and the falling off was entirely in the stronger and higher taxed wines. 167 I venture to say that it would be absolutely impossible to obtain an increased revenue from the wine duties, and that the only result of attempting to do so would be this, that more people would drink English champagne than think they drink it at the present moment. I allowed a considerable sum for the effect of forestalments in spirits in the previous year in my estimate of the receipts from foreign spirits, but the decrease of the revenue from that source somewhat exceeded my expectation.