§ MR. BAIRD (Glasgow, central)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received a com- 1315 plaint of the publication in The Labour Gazette of the prices charged and dividends paid by certain workmen's Co-operative Societies from private traders who, as taxpayers, consider themselves aggrieved by the action of the Government in fostering a particular system of trading; and whether, inasmuch as all reference is omitted to the quality of articles sold in comparison to those sold by private traders at the same places, the free and alleged misleading advertisement, in The Labour Gazette, of Co-operative Societies will be continued?
§ MR. MUNDELLAA complaint has just been received to the effect stated from the Traders' Defence Association of Scotland, who also complain of The Labour Gazette dealing with the subject of co-operation at all. No other complaints have been received. The object of the information given as to the prices which working people actually pay on the average for certain articles of consumption is of a purely statistical character, on the principle of The Gazette average prices of British corn, which include every variety of quality. The method has been fully explained in The Labour Gazette itself, to which the hon. Member may be referred. It is necessary for statistical purposes to obtain the actual quantities sold, and those have as yet only been obtained through the Co-operative Societies. The omission of all reference to quality prevents the statistics having the effect of an advertisement.