§ MR. D. A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydfil)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will state in how many and what years during the quarter of a century prior to 1900 the average net f.o.b. price of coal shipped foreign from the United Kingdom exceeded 12s. per ton; and if he can say what pro- 50 portion of the coal shipped foreign in 1900 was small coal.
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe years 1875 and 1890 were the only years during the period specified in which the average declared value of coal exported rom the United Kingdom exceeded 12s. per ton. I may, perhaps, add that in 1900 the average declared value was 16.52s. The proportion of small coal shipped in 1900 cannot be stated.