§ Mr. WILLIAM REDMOND (Clare, E.)To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is proposed to charge the same duty on Irish-grown tobacco as on foreign imported tobacco; and whether, in view of the fact that the Irish tobacco industry was stamped out by Act of Parliament, some remission of taxation on Irish grown tobacco can now be given to help a reviving industry, with a view to giving much sorely-needed employment in Ireland.
(Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) The Resolution passed in Committee of Ways and Means on the 7th instant provides for an Excise Duty on Irish-grown tobacco unmanufactured, at the rate of 2s. 10d. the pound, as compared with 3s. the pound charged on imported tobacco. The difference of 2d. is intended to compensate the Irish producer for the cost entailed upon him by Excise restrictions. The Government could not agree to any differentiation in the rates of duty for the purpose of affording an artificial stimulus to the production of tobacco in Ireland.