asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of separate documents stamped at the Customs Office, Portsmouth, during each of the years 1919, 1920 and 1921, and the amount of Stamp Duty collected at the same office for each of the same years, and the number of extra officials employed at the same office to deal with the stamping of documents beyond the number requisite to carry out the other work of the office?

The numbers of separate documents on which Stamp Duty was impressed at the Customs Office, Portsmouth, during the years 1919, 1920 and 1921 were 16,200, 20,800 and 16,900, respectively, the total duty thereon being £23,300, £32,700 and £24,100, respectively. Additional sums of £5,000, £6,400, and £4,800 were collected in those respective years in respect of the duty on documents transmitted for stamping to London and the sale of stamps. The stamp work occupies the whole time of an officer on the Inland Revenue staff and the greater part of the time of an officer on the Customs and Excise staff.