Mr. C. WASONasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that on the 14th July Captain Walker, who is the naval officer in charge at Stromness, handed to the proprietor of the Mason Arms Hotel a paper stating that the house was closed 1245W for a month; and whether, in view of the fact that no complaint had ever been made against the hotel, against the proprietor, or any of his servants, that the proprietor was refused all information as to what offence he had committed, immediate inquiry will be made as to the reasons actuating the officer in charge to take the action referred to?
Dr. MACNAWARAThe matter has been inquired into, and it has been ascertained that unlabelled bottles of spirit which were found in the possession of certain men had been supplied from this establishment. It is understood that the owner had been warned three months previously and also by Captain Walker's predecessor.