§ MR. E. SPENCER (West Bromwich)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the advertisement branch of the Board of Trade Journal is under the control of the Department; if not, under whose control it is, and what are the terms of the contract; whether he is aware that the advertisements in the Journal are said to realise over £5,000 per annum; whether any copies are supplied to the contractors; and, if so, on what terms; are the contractors per- 915 mitted to send copies free of postage when soliciting advertisements, and whether it is with the sanction of the Department that the Royal Arms are used on the envelopes and circulars soliciting advertisements; and does the Department place at the disposal of the contractors an unlimited number of pages in the Journal for advertisements?
§ *THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Sir M. HICKS BEACH, Bristol, W.)The control of the advertisement branch of the Board of Trade Journal rests in the main with the Stationery Office and the Treasury. The Board of Trade recommend, but do not make the final arrangements. I think it would be better if they did. I am not aware that the advertisements in the Journal are said to realise the large sum mentioned by the hon. Member. The contractor, under his contract, receives 25 copies free of charge, and has the privilege of purchasing from time to time 1,000 or more copies at the net cost of press work, paper and sewing, on the understanding that the copies thus purchased are not to be offered for sale. The contractor is not, so far as I am aware, permitted to send copies free of postage when soliciting advertisements, nor has the Department given any sanction for him to use the Royal Arms on envelopes or circulars soliciting advertisements. The maximum number of pages to contain advertisements is fixed by the contract at 100.