§ 64. Sir JOHN BUTCHERasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the fact that in many cases residents in Ireland have been recently compelled by the police to hand over their shot guns to the police to prevent the possibility of these guns being raided and seized by Sinn Fein rebels, and that in many of these cases the owners of the guns had previously, in some cases only two or three days previously, paid £3 for licences to shoot game; and whether, seeing that by the act of the Executive these persons are prevented from exercising the privilege for which they had paid money to the Exchequer, he will give directions that the money so paid, or a proper proportion of it, shall be repaid to the owners of the guns?
§ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (Mr. Chamberlain)The Commissioners of Customs and Excise are prepared, in the exceptional circumstances, to give favourable consideration to applications for repayment of the duty on £3 game licences for the current year from holders of such licences whose guns have been surrendered to the police, provided that satisfactory evidence is furnished that no liability to game licence duty has been incurred by the applicants 1533 for the year commenced 1st August last. Where there has been partial user of a licence the Commissioners are willing to issue a shorter term licence to cover the actual period of user in substitution for the longer term licence taken out, and to refund the difference in the rates of duty.
§ Sir J. BUTCHERShould the application for refund be made at the time to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise in London or Dublin?
§ Mr. CHAMBERLAINIf application be made in Dublin, that will do.