§ VISCOUNT SANDONasked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether, in view of the increasing anxiety on the part of a large body of manufacturers, artizans, and mechanics in all parts of the Country respecting our future commercial relations with France, and their desire for accurate information respecting the new French Tariff, by which their interests are largely affected, he will reconsider his refusal, addressed to the honourable Member for Sheffield, to grant an English translation of the Return presented to the House on May 26th, which gives in French terms only the many and various articles of British produce and manufacture respecting which changes of duty are proposed to be made under the new French Tariff? He wished to add that when he had obtained the Return he had assumed that it would be furnished in English, and not in French.
§ MR. CHAMBERLAINSir, the noble Lord has apparently been misled by some inaccurate report of the reply which I gave some time ago to the hon. Member for Sheffield (Mr. Stuart Wortley). I did not meet his request for a translation with an absolute refusal; but I pointed out to him difficulties in the way of complying with it. There are, in the first place, the difficulties of translating what is a technical document; and, in the second place, the fact, as I am informed, that the manufacturers, artizans, and mechanics referred to in the Question of the noble Lord, are already thoroughly acquainted with the French terms used in their own trades, and do not therefore require any translation. Under these circumstances, I suggested that the Return would involve an unnecessary expenditure of public money, and that I hoped he would not press for the translation. In answer to the renewed request of the noble Lord I have to add to what I have already said, in the first place, that the general Tariff referred to has not been a basis of negotiations with the French Government; but that these negotiations have been founded on a tariff à discuter, which is a confidential document which at present we are not able to produce. In the second place, I have to point out that I have not received a single application for a translation from any Chamber of Commerce, or from any other representative commercial body; but if the noble Lord in the face of these facts still thinks it desirable to have the translation, I will communicate with the Chambers of Commerce, and ask whether they think that the usefulness of such a document would justify the expense of the translation.
§ VISCOUNT SANDONgave Notice that, in the interests of the large industrial population he represented, he should feel obliged to press the right hon. Gentleman on the subject, without reference to the views of any Chamber of Commerce.
§ MR. CHAMBERLAINsaid, he would communicate with the Chambers of Commerce at once, and would inform the noble Lord of their opinions on the subject.
§ VISCOUNT SANDONsaid, that he should not be satisfied with the opinions of Chambers of Commerce only.
§ MR. CHAMBERLAINsaid, that would be a matter for discussion when the Motion was brought forward.