§ SIR LYON PLAYFAIR (Leeds, S.)asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will lay upon the Table official Returns showing, as stated by him in Greenock on 1st November, 1888, that sugar bounties cost France £3,380,000; Germany £3,238,484; Austria £1,036,667; Belgium £813,000; Holland £309,655; or, if he is not in possession of official Returns, whether he will state on what authority these figures are given, and, if the authority is from official sources, he will indicate references to them?
§ * THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Baron HENRY DE WORMS,) Liverpool, East ToxtethThe figures quoted by the hon. Gentleman, and used by me at Greenock, were derived from the recognised organ of the German sugar manufacturers, Die Deutsche Zuckerindustrie, and, as far as I know, their general accuracy is not disputed by the Powers concerned. As regards France, if the right hon. Gentleman will consult the Journal Officiel, he will will find that in the debate on the sugar question in the Senate, on the 17th of June, 1888, the then Minister of Finance, M. Tirard—who now occupies the same post in the present Administration—stated that the amount of the sugar bounties in France in recent years had fluctuated between 70 and 90 millions of francs. The latter sum—equal to £3,680,000—is £300,000 more than the amount I quoted in the House the other night.