§ MR. T. M. HEALYI beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any official information has reached him that, in preparing whisky for the market, frauds are practised in bond by the users of patent still spirit under the supervision of the Government officials; whether he will consider the advisability of bringing the sale of spirituous liquors under the supervision of the Food and Drugs Acts in the same manner as milk, butter, and other articles of consumption; and whether, in the interests of the public health, the Government will inquire whether chemical analysis by modern methods is now able to practically determine the composition of alcoholic liquors.
§ MR. RITCHIEIn reply to the first clause of the Question, I have no official information on the subject. In reply to the second clause, I do not think this matter falls within the province of the Treasury. In reply to the third clause, if the intention be to ascertain whether chemical analysis is able to determine the relative proportion of raw grain or patent-still spirit and malt or pot-still whisky in a mixture of the two, the answer is that as both these spirits vary considerably in their chemical char acteristics only an approximate estimation, at best, could be made in the case of a blend of which the origin and constituent ingredients were unknown.
§ MR. T. M. HEALYHas the right hon. Gentleman not seen the contrary stated in that highly scientific paper, the Lancet.
§ MR. RITCHIENo, Sir, I have not.