§ Mr. LABOUCHERE (Northampton)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether Ins attention has been called to the statement made by the Finance Minister of the Dominion in his last budget speech, that any additional tariff preference would only be granted to the mother country for and in consideration of the preference that Canada has asked for her products in the markets of Great Britain; whether any step has been taken by him to learn whether the word products is limited to food supplies, and, if not, what other products are included; and whether he has already informed the Dominion Government, or, if not, whether he will inform that Government, that His Majesty's Government has assured this House that it will not tax raw material.
§ Mr. J. CHAMBERLAINI have seen the statement to which the hon. Mem-
† See (4) Debates, cxxiv., 63.682 ber refers. It does not add anything to the statement of the position of the Dominion Government as defined in the Memorandum laid before the Conference of last year and already published. With regard to the last part of the hon. Member's Question the usual sources of information as to statements made in the House are available to the Dominion Government, and I have not thought it necessary to make any communication to them on the subject.
§ MR. D. A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydvil)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the statement made to the Dominion Parliament by the Canadian Finance Minister in April, and recorded in the Canadian Sessional Paper No. 10A, to the effect that at the time of the Conference last year in London Mr. Fielding frankly told the Colonial Secretary that, while his Government were prepared to rearrange their tariff so as to give Great Britain a preference over the foreign competitor, they were not prepared, as between the British and the Canadian manufacturer, to make any further reduction in their tariff which would operate to the advantage of the former; and will he either cause the Canadian Sessional Paper No. 10A, containing the correspondence in connection with the German tariff, to be issued as a Parliamentary Paper, or secure copies for hon. Members who may wish to have them.
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINThe statement to which the hon. Member refers appears to be the speech of the Canadian Minister of Finance in introducing the Budget in April last. In that speech he referred to the Memorandum published in the Conference Blue-book, which the Question does not adequately summarise. As soon as I can obtain copies of the Canadian Sessional Paper referred to by the hon. Member I will lay it before Parliament.