§ MR. HERBERT LEWISI beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the Report for the year 1900 on the Trade and Commerce of Italy, which states that owing to the increasing expense of British coal, of which four and a half million tons were imported in 1900, it has been proposed to utilise the waterfalls and electricity for generating power in order to substitute electricity for steam for traffic and industrial purposes, thereby reducing the imports of British coal; and whether, under these circumstances, the Government will reconsider their decision to impose a duty on coal exported from the United Kingdom, thereby increasing the cost of British coal in Italy.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Sir M. HICKS BEACH, Bristol, W.)I have not seen the Report; but, assuming the statement in the question to be accurate, I see no reason for reconsidering the imposition of a coal duty. I am told that large contracts have been made for supplying coal to Italy since the imposition of the duty, the purchaser paying the duty.