§ MR. MANSFIELD (Lincolnshire, Spalding)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he will give the particulars of the inquiry into the fiscal policy of this country, stating the various headings under which information is required, and what the Government wish to ascertain by the grand inquest of the nation.
§ The HON. MEMBER also had the following Questions on the Paper:—
§ To ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he is prepared to consider the necessity of instituting legislation to secure a minimum wage with other matters relating to the proposed changes in the fiscal policy of the country.
§ To ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he can now state whether it is the intention of the Government to establish a fiscal union between this country and the self-governing colonies; what colonies would be included within the union; the terms on which they would enter; and the method by which the fiscal arrangements of the union, and of individual countries within the union, would be controlled.
584§ THE PRIME MINISTER AND FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, E.With regard to all these Questions I have only a negative answer to give.
§ MR. BRYCE (Aberdeen, S.)I wish to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, considering that the House has been invited to join in the inquiry which the Government is making, he does not intend to give the House any information whatever with regard to the nature, method, topics, and time when the result of the inquiry will be announced.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI was not asked that Question, but I am perfectly ready to answer it. Of course, we shall be ready, in due time, to give the House and the country all the information at our disposal.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe right hon. Gentleman must be perfectly aware that to prepare tables of statistics is not a thing which can be done in twenty-four hours, or even forty-eight hours.
§ MR. BRYCEThen is there reason to expect that we shall have some result of the inquiry before the end of the present session?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOUROh, I should think that there is reason to hope that.
§ MR. LOUGH (Islington, W.)Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us what fresh statistics are being prepared which do not exist?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe hon. Member will have every means of gratifying his curiosity when the Papers are laid.
MR. CATHCART WASONI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, in view of the fact that the food imports of the country have increased during the last half-century from £35,813,613 to £162,776,280, and also that during the same time there has been a decrease in the cultivation of land, measures will be taken 585 by the Government to prohibit land from being held in extensive areas for purposes of amusement.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI have no opportunity of testing the accuracy of the statistics which the hon. Gentleman has put in his Question, but I do not think it would be desirable to propose any legislation for restricting the area devoted to public amusement.
MR. CATHCART WASONI do not think that the right hon. Gentleman has understood my Question. I refer to land hold for private amusement.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI do not know what land the hon. Gentleman refers to.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI confess that was the first interpretation I put on the Question, but it occurred to me afterwards that the two Gentlemen who knew the Highlands so well were probably aware that deer forests are not very well suited for growing wheat.
§ [No answer was returned.]
§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in view of a possible change in the fiscal policy of the country, and the consequent necessity for raising in the United Kingdom as large a food supply as possible, will the Government make such arrangements as may be necessary to enable the people of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to settle on the lands which have been scheduled in the Report of the Deer Forests Commission as suitable for occupation by the people.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURAs I have already indicated to the hon. Gentleman, I see no connection between legislation for doer forests and fiscal reform. I have already answered Questions several times on the subject of deer forests, and I have nothing to add.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI do not see the relevancy.
§ MR. BLACK (Banffshire)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in connection with the Colonial Secretary's proposals for revision of our fiscal system, the Cabinet is inquiring into the expediency of establishing an Imperial Council on which the colonies as well as the mother country may be represented.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURNo, Sir. Any such inquiry is evidently extremely premature, and it would be foolish to attempt to ask for statistical information on this subject from any Government Department.
§ MR. BLACKThen do I understand that the Government contemplate interfering with the fiscal arrangements of the colonies without even considering the question of allowing them representation in the councils of the mother country?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI do not know on what the hon. Member bases his theory that we are going to interfere with the fiscal arrangements of the colonies.
§ MR. SPEAKEROrder, Order!