§ MR. HENRY HOBHOUSE (Somersetshire, E.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to supplement and complete the Memoranda on British Trade [Cd. 1761], which are stated in the prefatory note to be incomplete, fragmentary, and hastily prepared.
§ * THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR,) Leeds,! CentralInquiries are continually in progress by the Commercial, Labour, and Statistical Departments of the Board of Trade with a view to supplement and complete the information contained in the Blue-book referred to. The question of publication of some of the material thus collected in a suitable form will be considered at a later stage.
§ MR. HENRY HOBHOUSECan the right hon. Gentleman say about when the information will be published?
§ * MR. GERALD BALFOURI am not prepared to say.
§ MR. JOSEPH WALTONI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether His Majesty's Government will lay upon the Table the questions and inquiries addressed to the Board of Trade, in response to which the Memoranda, Statistical Tables, and Charts [Cd. 1761] 1903, were prepared with reference to various matters bearing on British and foreign trade and industrial conditions.
§ * MR. GERALD BALFOURNo, Sir. These questions and inquiries were confidential, and I am not prepared to lay them on the Table.