Mr. Gladstone carried the second reading of the Bill authorizing
the manufacture without excise duty of malt for cattle on Mon- day night without a division. The most serious objection raised was that of Mr. Bass, who maintained that the use of linseed cake, in the malt thus manufactured would probably not prevent the use of the same malt for beer, as the linseed could be separated at any stage of the proceedings, which, if true, would probably be fatal, as good beer is not what a large number of the poor men ever look for, but only intoxicating fluid. The officers of the Inland Revenue have, however, assured Mr. Gladstone that the linseed cannot even be so far separated as to make endurable beer. But then, perhaps, the officers of the Inland Revenue scarcely know how much many labourers can endure in the way of taste, if the beer will only stupify and excite.
Previous page
