§ 32. Mr. ARTHUR MICHAEL SAMUELasked the President of the Board of Trade the aggregate tonnage of all imports of iron and steel into the United Kingdom from 1st January, 1929, to 30th April, 1930, including iron and steel in a more highly finished form than billets, blooms, and slabs, and sheet tinplate bars?
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMAs shown in the Trade and Navigation Accounts for December, 1929, and April, 1930, th aggregate weight of goods classified in the trade returns as "Iron and Steel and Manufactures thereof" imported into Great Britain and Northern Ireland, registered during the period from 1st January, 1929, to 30th April, 1930, was 3,901,000 tons.
§ Sir N. GRATTAN-DOYLEDoes the right hon. Gentleman realise that the answer which he has given is the greatest possible reason why we should have safeguarding for iron and steel?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe question only asks for actual figures. Nothing arises from that.
§ 33. Mr. SAMUELasked the President of the Board of Trade the approximate number of men employed in United Kingdom conditions of production required to produce the iron and steel of all kinds similar to those imported into the United Kingdom from 1st January, 1929, to 30th April, 1930, including iron 1613 and steel in a more highly finished form than billets, blooms, and slabs, and sheet and tinplate bars?
§ Mr. GRAHAMNo, Sir. I regret that it is quite impracticable to give any reliable estimate of the kind requested.
§ Mr. SAMUELWould it be wrong to say that the approximate figure, although not accurate or reliable, is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 120,000 men and boys?
§ Mr. T. WILLIAMSCan the right hon. Gentleman give any rough estimate of the number of workpeople employed in producing steel that has been exported from this country?
§ Mr. GRAHAMIn reply to the second supplementary question, I am afraid that I should require notice; in reply to the first, it is quite impossible to quote a figure that is in any way accurate, and I hesitate to adopt for one moment the figure which my hon. Friend suggested.