Captain CRAIGasked whether the right hon. Gentleman can state the amount of revenue derived from the duties on quack medicines in the years 1905–6, 906–7, and 1907–8, respectively?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe amounts of revenue derived from the Medicine Stamp Duty, to which I take the hon. Member to refer, in the years 1905–6, 1906–7, 1907–8, were £324,112, £327,106, and £334,142 respectively.
Captain CRAIGIs this extraordinary increase year by year in those quack medicines to be attributed, to a certain extent, to the fact that the label put on by the Government in order to collect the duty is taken by certain of the poorer classes to mean that the contents have Government approval?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEI do not think so. There has been no extraordinary increase. It is only an increase of £324,000 to £334,000.