§ MR. CHARLES ALLEN (Gloucestershire, Stroud)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether he can say if the system of rebates granted by steamship owners to shippers, as it exists in this country, has been declared illegal in the United States; and, if so, whether this was done by a decision of the Law Courts, or by legislative enactment; and, if by the latter, can he give the reference number of the statute.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. BONAR LAW, Glasgow, Blackfriars)I am not able to say definitely whether any final decision has yet been arrived at in the United States Courts with regard to the legality or otherwise of the system of rebates, but I am aware that the question has been raised under an Act of Congress of July, 1890, cap. 647.