§ MR. RYLANDSasked the Secretary to the Treasury, If he can state the cost of printing the volumes of the East India Forests Conservancy Return, No. 466, of 1871, including cost of plans and paper; by whom that Return was prepared, stating the salaries of the persons employed; whether the preparation of the Return necessitated the employment of any extra clerk or clerks, and at what cost; and what number of copies have been sold to the public?
§ MR. BAXTERSir, the cost of the four volumes, printing, plans, and paper was for Vol. I., £772 4s. 6d.; Vol. II., £802 19s. 2½d.; Vol. III., £324 0s. 11½d.; and Vol. IV, £266 10s. 10d., or a total of £2,165 15s. 6d. The Return was ordered on the 15th of May last, and presented in August. It was prepared under the directions of the Secretary of State for India in Council by officers of his department. The salaries of those officers, three in number, were £1,000, £580, and £180 respectively; but I am informed that the preparation of the Return caused no extra expense to the India Office beyond the sum of £25 11s., which was the cost of the labour of an extra clerk hired for the occasion. Eight copies of each volume of the Return have been sold, realizing the sum of £13 6s. The Treasury has given directions to the Stationery Office, in future, to state on the back of all Papers presented to Parliament by command, the cost of printing, paper, &c.; and a circular has been addressed to all public departments requesting that, in furnishing the materials for making up such documents, they will state approximately the cost of the clerical labour expended upon them. It is in contemplation to extend this system by-and-by to all Papers printed for Parliament.