§ MR. PICKERSGILL (Bethnal Green, S.W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the following passage in the recent Report of Mr. Giffen on Statistics of Emigration and Immigration—
The difficulties of obtaining a Return of the number of foreigners proceeding from this country to European countries, it may be pointed out, can only be overcome by legislation … The alien lists now dealt with, it must always be understood, relate to one side of the account only:—and whether, having regard to the importance of accurate information on the subject, the Government would be prepared to legislate during the present Session with a view to supply the omission above referred to?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Sir M. HICKS BEACH,) Bristol, W.My attention has been called to the passage quoted by the hon. Member. It appears from the Report itself that very full information has, in fact, been obtained with existing means, and there is little doubt practically as to the extent of the immigration in question, although the statistics are formally incomplete, and are not obtained under statutory sanction. The question of applying for further legislative powers is now engag- 1719 ing my serious attention. I should not hesitate to do so if I was convinced that any practical good would result from such powers. But I do not think it would be advisable to do anything which might interfere with the ordinary passenger traffic, and generally interrupt trade, without materially adding to the information on the subject.