§ Captain EDENasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has yet come to any decision as to the possibility of imposing a customs duty on imported malting barley?
Mr. GUINNESSI have given careful consideration to the possibility of imposing a customs duty on imported malting barley, but I have not yet discovered a scheme free from serious objections. The best scheme so far devised would be most difficult to administer, and would necessitate cumbersome and vexatious control of all barley used for malting, whether imported or British. To complete the scheme it would also be necessary to place a similar duty on the various substitutes which brewers might use, such as sugar, glucose, rice and maize. Moreover, it is very doubtful whether such a duty would raise the price of British barley, as brewers pay more attention to quality than price in purchasing malt.
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