§ SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)I beg to ask the 262 Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the payment of less than the recognised wage in the case of contracts for Government printing to Messrs. Neill and Company; whether Messrs. Neill and Company have ceased to be the Government printers for Scotland; and under what department is the supervision of the fair wage principle in the case of the successors of Messrs. Neill as regards the work for the Registry of Sasines produced in the old Register House, Edinburgh.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINI have received no complaints upon this subject from any of the parties concerned. Messrs. Neill and Company have not ceased to do Government printing, but a part of the contracts formerly held by them are now held by another firm. The duty of seeing that the fair wages clause is observed in these cases rests, primarily with the Controller of the Stationery Office, and in case of appeal with the Board of Treasury. I have made inquiry into the cases referred to in, the question, but my information is to the effect that the clause is not being infringed.