§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the expediency of arranging for the dog tax in Scotland to be reduced as in Ireland; and, if not, will he state on what ground Ireland is given a preference in this matter.
(Answered by Mr. Austen Chamberlain.) I do not propose to initiate legislation for the assimilation of Ireland to the rest of the United Kingdom in the matter of establishment licences. As is well known, Ireland is exempt from payment of all these licences; and the small registration tax on dogs, imposed for local purposes, is neither collected by nor paid into the Exchequer.