The Bill, as further amended in Committee, is reported.

Before the Minister deals with the main question——

We have been in Committee on those amendments. The main question is not to be taken now.

I would like to say a few words on Clause 4 at the Report Stage of the Finance Bill.

When is it proposed to take the Report Stage?

I am in the hands of the Dáil with respect to that.

Are we still in Committee?

We have gone out of Committee because we have finished, with the amendments.

In Section 21 there is a provision that certain stocks and bonds issued by the British Treasury should be accepted in satisfaction of that duty, but that they shall not apply in the case of any claim for death duties arising in Saorstát Eireann on a death occurring on or after the 1st day of April, 1923. We are now ended the financial year and the 1st April, 1923, is two months ago. It seems to me a little hard that the executors of the late deceased should be deprived of the privilege I think they still possess at this moment, and will continue to possess until this Section passes. I suggest the figure 3 should be made into 4.

That can be done in the Report Stage.

I am throwing it out merely as a suggestion. It seems to me that retrospective legislation is very objectionable, but when it is retrospective legislation against a corpse it is even worse.

I think that is a reasonable suggestion, and I am prepared to accept it.

It can be treated as a printer's error.

The Report Stage of the Bill has not yet been considered. I think it would be better to take it to-morrow. Deputy Johnson's point would then arise.

Very good.

Perhaps it would not be inadvisable to say that what I propose to do is to ask the Minister for Finance whether he will at this stage deal with the question which was put up to him on an earlier stage and which was passed by on the assumption that we were out of order in raising it on the clause under discussion. It turned out that it was not out of order, but in order.

I understand we took the earliest opportunity of informing the Dáil at that time at the next clause that it was open to anyone to raise any question. There was a discussion, the Deputy may remember, for a couple of hours on the motion.

The question that were raised on the correct section were not raised in the following section, and therefore were not dealt with by the Minister. Perhaps if he refers to the official report he will see the point.

On the motion to-morrow "that the Bill be received for final consideration" it will be possible to raise any matters dealt with in the Bill, and in that way the Minister will be almost compelled to deal with them.

It would not be possible to treat the whole of Section 7 as a clerical error?

The Report Stage will be taken to-morrow.