§ MR. DAVID THOMASTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the new form of the monthly Trade and Navigation Returns, any definition of small coal has been laid down for the guidance of exporters in declaring the description of their shipments, or whether it is left to their discretion; and, in the latter case, will he consider the advisability of prescribing a maximum 399 distance between the bars of the screen through which coal must pass in order to constitute small.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) The distinction now drawn in the official Trade Accounts between small, large, and "through and through" coal has been made experimentally to meet the wishes of exporters, and on the understanding that these descriptions are, generally speaking, well understood in the trade, although the precise definitions may vary somewhat in the different coalfields. These statistics are based, like all the export Returns, on the declarations of exporters, subject to check when necessary. It is not thought desirable to prescribe a hard and fast rule, at least until more experience has been gained.