§ Sir D. Thomsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons were arrested in Scotland in 1938 for drunkenness believed to be due to methylated spirits; whether he can give comparable figures for previous years and whether he is satisfied with the working of the Methylated Spirits (Sale by Retail) (Scotland) Act?
§ Mr. ColvilleThe Act referred to came into operation on the 1st January, 1938, but the local returns relate to six-monthly periods commencing on 1st May and 1st 1707W November, and comparative figures for the whole year are not therefore available. The latest returns show that in the course of the six months from 1st May to 31st October, 1938, 297 persons were charged with offences of the nature referred to as compared with 1,243 persons in the corresponding six months of 1937. It is satisfactory that the figures show such a substantial decline since the Act came into operation.