§ MR. COURTENAY WARNER (Staffordshire, Lichfield)To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the cost to the public of editing, indexing, and preparing the various volumes of the Rolls Series, he will arrange that in the future more numbers should be printed, and that 527 they should be supplied gratis or at a small charge to such public libraries as may apply for them, seeing that these volumes can, at present, only be consulted, unless purchased, at the British Museum, which greatly curtails their value for purposes of research.
(Answered by Mr. Runciman). Considerably more copies used to be printed and the surplus stock distributed, but the practice was altered owing to the extravagance to which it was found to lead. I understand, however, that public libraries receive a special reduction of 25 per cent. in the price of the volumes which they purchase. I do not think it desirable to extend this concession.