§ SIR SAMUEL SCOTT (Marylebone, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Report on the trade of Indo-China in 1903–4, and on the trade of Servia in 1904, were not published until February 1906; and whether there is any explantion of the delay in the issue of these Reports.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. RUNCIMAN,) (for Sir Edward Grey) DewsburyIn the case of Indo-China the author of the Report which was published in January, not February, explained that he had found great difficulty in obtaining the requisite data. A preliminary Report on the trade of that country from October, 1903 to February, 1904 was, however, issued in May, 1904. There was no permanent British Consular officer in Tonking until July last. The annual Reports from that district will, no doubt, be furnished in future as soon as the Consul can obtain the statistics. In the case of Servia, the statistics for 1904 were not issued till the end of November last.