§ MR. BRADLAUGHI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the cause of the delay in the issue of the further Returns promised by the Labour Statistics Department; and, whether he can state if any additional information has been collected this Session, and when such information will be published?
§ SIR M. HICKS BEACHA part of the census of wages (a most important part) is now in the hands of the printers. A Return as to the cost of living is also in proof. The Report as to strikes for 1888 and the Annual Report as to Trades Unions are also with the printers. These four papers will be issued very shortly. The other parts of the programme in the Memorandum No. 433 of Session 1888 will be carried out. There has been unavoidable delay with some of these papers owing to the great novelty of the work, as explained in the Memorandum referred to, but they are being pressed forward as rapidly as possible with the staff at the disposal of the Department.