§ MR. TOMLINSON (Preston)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact stated that the Returns received by the Foreign Office show that the new French Tariff has caused losses to English trade of 800,000,000 francs on woollens; 4,500,000 francs on cottons; 400,000,000 francs on silks; 14,000,000 francs on raw wool; 3,000,000 francs on raw skins; 3,000,000 francs on cotton yarn; and 6,000,000 francs on jute, and that French exports to this country have increased during the past 12 months at the rate of 48 per cent.; and what steps, if any, he proposes to take to counteract this result to British trade.
§ MR. MUNDELLAThe figures stated are correctly quoted from Sir J. Crowe's Report, and from the French Official Returns as regards the imports into France from the United Kingdom. The ton. Member, however, has omitted to mention increases enumerated by Sir J. Crowe, amounting to 26,000,000 francs. As to the exports from France to the United Kingdom, the increase has not been, as stated by the hon. Member, 48 per cent., but 48,000,000 francs, which equals 4.7 per cent. How far these changes are the result of the application of the new French Tariff is, of course, a matter for discussion.