§ MR. CHIOZZA MONEY (Paddington, N.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has now received information as to the action taken by the Australian Customs authorities under the Customs Act in charging duty upon certain British manufactures, viz. blacking and boot polishes, upon an arbitrary valuation of their own instead of upon the invoiced prices; if this treatment was only applied to British goods; and if he is aware that the Australian Customs authorities have now, upon the strong 618 complaint of the importers, reversed their decision and refunded the excess duty; and if he has obtained, or has taken measures to obtain, from the Australian Minister of Trades and Customs an assurance that such arbitrary treatment of British goods will not be repeated.
§ MR. LLOYD-GEORGEI have been in consultation in regard to this Question with my right hon. friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies, who has addressed a communication on the subject to the Commonwealth Government, but a reply has not yet been received.